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 rates under
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.