Equipment loan program helps customers reduce budget stress

Western offers its customers a great value—free equipment. Equipment Loan Program Manager Rich Burnkrant has a file drawer full of stories from customers who saved money by using Western-owned equipment.

The Equipment Loan Program provides technical equipment and training to customers through loan agreements. Utilities use the program to "test drive" new technologies, and many customers purchase their own equipment after successfully using a Western-owned piece of equipment.

Equipment identifies problems

The city of Holdrege, Neb., uses a Western infrared camera to diagnose problems before outages occur. Holdrege Utility Supervisor Dave Hunter said, "We've been using the camera for about four years now, and I wouldn't want to go through summer without it.

"Our city is small with limited, finite resources. It makes sense for us to take advantage of Western's Equipment Loan Program and identify problems before they become disasters," Hunter explained. "By avoiding outages, we eliminate the need to take our system off-line for unscheduled maintenance and save the associated lost revenue.

"The first time we used the camera we didn't have anything to compare the photos with," he said. "Now that we have used it for several years, we can use the camera's software to download photos and view them side-by-side for comparison."

In April, the Imperial Irrigation District used Western's infrared camera to inspect new switchgear in a local theater arts building and to identify priority items in the steam plant before a preventive maintenance shutdown. Imperial uses the equipment because it's lightweight and compact.

Monitor helps determine wind potential

Customers across Western's service area search for ways to improve their local economies. Some consider alternative energy solutions to support economic development. Exploring options can be costly, especially for small utilities. That's where the Equipment Loan Program comes in.

Western's anemometer kits help customers gather data needed to evaluate wind turbine potential. Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians air quality expert David Jones used a kit to monitor wind speed and direction for about a year. Jones said, "Our community is undergoing substantial expansion and we were looking for supplemental energy sources. Solar was too expensive for us, so we looked into wind. Western's anemometer kit showed that the turbine placed on our ridgeline produced power 22 percent of the time."

Equipment teaches conservation, innovation

Gunnison County Electric's Mark Daily borrowed Western's lighting display kit for his utility's annual meeting and energy fair. He said, "We used the lighting display to educate our members about energy efficient lighting."

Imperial Irrigation District Energy Conservation Specialist Esteban Vasquez uses the lighting display to teach conservation groups. He said, "I find Western's equipment loan program very helpful to Imperial. It lets small companies tap into valuable technological resources and ideas without reinventing the wheel."

After a local Energy Services fuel cell demonstration in Denver, a spectator told Burnkrant, "I never quite understood how fuel cells worked until I saw one up close. It's kind of like baseball—you have to experience it to 'get it'."

Professionals help get the job done

Western-owned infrared cameras, demand analyzers and power quality monitors allow customers to track energy use. Western's Energy Services and field representatives work with customers to ensure equipment gets the desired job done and is available when needed.

For more information on the Equipment Loan Program, call Burnkrant at 720-962-7420.

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