Cass County
Electric's first off-peak customer turns 30
by
Kevon Storie
 |
West Acres Shopping Center lights
up with off-peak energy.
|
West Acres Shopping Center sparked a construction boom on the rural southwestern edge of Fargo, N.D., when it opened in 1972 and became Cass County Electric Cooperative's first customer to adopt an innovative strategy for containing heating costs.
Fossil
fuel shortage opens the way for dual heating system
During the nation's 1973-74 energy crisis, the fuel oil and natural gas West Acres used to heat the common areas and small shops was in short supply. "It was expensive and worse yet, unreliable," said Brad Schlossman, son of the original developer, Bill Schlossman, and now CEO of West Acres Development, LLP.
The mall's supplier couldn't make its delivery of natural gas for the forthcoming winter, and its fuel oil supplier increased its allocation by only 10 percent. West Acres was facing a long, cold winter. "Then, Cass County stepped up to the plate with a revolutionary idea. Switching to the off-peak system was an easy decision," Schlossman recalled.
When
the senior Schlossman learned that his total supply of heating
fuel would fall far short of the mall's needs, then Cass County
Manager Willard Grager urgently placed an order for two 1,800
kW electric boilers. The utility's engineering services made
arrangements with West Acres's contractors to install the units
as soon as they arrived. The electric heating system was placed
into service with only a three-day supply of heating oil remaining
in the tanks. "It was a close call," admitted
Brad Schlossman. "West Acres never looked back."
Cass County takes an early lead in load control
In
the early 1970s, Grager had pioneered the concept of controlling
systemwide electric loads with Minnkota
Power Cooperative's 10 other member co-ops. Their solution
to system peaks strongly dominated by electric resistance heating
was to install Landis and Gyr ripple control systems to reduce
electric peaking characteristics. Minnkota still uses the same
modulated frequency control system to generate its control signal
today.
West Acres Shopping
Center celebrated its 30th anniversary last October with a $19
million facelift that added 25,000 sq. ft., and many new features,
but the dual heating system stayed in place. Using off-peak
electricity as its primary heat source and switching to a backup
system during load management control periods still provides
reliable, affordable heat to tenants and customers. "The
maintenance costs have been comparable to a single system, and
tenants appreciate that it keeps our utility ratesunder
control," noted Schlossman. "The anchor tenants
(large department stores) can choose a different system, but most of them opt for the same one," he added.
Off-peak incentives grow in popularity
Jeremy Mahowald, Cass County's energy management supervisor, is not surprised by the popularity of off-peak load management. "It's a great way to shield customers from the volatility of energy rates," he noted. "The program allows Minnkota and Cass County Electric to offer some of the most competitive electric rates in the region."
The number of load
management participants has grown from about 500 in
1978 to a total of about 8,800 today. About 500 of those are
commercial accounts, including two Microsoft facilities—Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of North Dakota and Innovis Health. CCEC
works with its customers to determine if they qualify for load
management, and which method best suits the home's or facility's
needs.
Dual heating rates are common among both commercial and residential customers. Appliances like water heaters and air conditioners can be placed on short-term cycling control during peak periods. Large commercial customers can take advantage of demand-and-energy rates by installing generators and placing all their electric on the off-peak system, as West Acres did in 1997. Mahowald estimates that the payback period on such a system is around three years.
Cass
County takes pride in developing a program that changed the
way utilities do business and values West Acres Shopping Center
for helping to demonstrate the effectiveness of off-peak load
management. Although West Acres was only looking for a cost-effective
heating solution, it helped the co-op start a revolution. And
for that, Cass County wished its pioneering commercial customer
a very happy birthday indeed, and many happy returns.
