New equipment loan form helps to measure program's value

The Equipment Loan Program gets many requests for the lighting display kit during Public Power Week.

In these times of ever-tightening budgets, even popular programs like Energy Service's Equipment Loan Program have to prove their worth, so we need to know how the borrowed equipment has helped Western customers.

Price of popularity

In a way, the Equipment Loan Program is all about tight budgets. It gives utilities access to diagnostic equipment that they might not have the funds to purchase otherwise. Utilities use the equipment to find and repair potential system malfunctions before they can cause costly outages. The equipment might help consumers identify and replace energy-hogging systems that contribute to expensive peak loads. A borrowed anemometer can help a Western customer figure out if a wind project would be cost-effective.

Any program that can do so much for so many is naturally going to see a lot of action. In 2007, Equipment Loan Manager Gary Hoffmann received 152 requests for loans. "The infrared camera is the most requested piece of equipment, especially in January," said Hoffmann. "Cold weather pushes homeowners and small businesses to ask their utilities for energy audits. There is another big rush in summer brought on by air conditioning demand and agricultural equipment. Requests involving large industrial accounts are pretty steady throughout the year."

The equipment loan manager must process each one of those requests, and Western pays for outbound shipping on all loans. When the equipment comes back, it has to be checked in again, cleaned and sometimes repaired. Each year, some tools must be replaced or upgraded to keep pace with technology advancements. All of this costs money—about $105,000 annually—yet Western offers the service to customers free of charge. Return shipping is the only cost to the customer.

All Energy Services asks in return is a little information about the outcome of the loan, to show budget decision-makers that the program helps customers make the most of their resources. The trouble is, Hoffmann noted, "We don't get much feedback."

IR cameras most valuable players

There have been notable success stories, many of which appeared in the Energy Services Bulletin, and the infrared camera most often plays the starring role.

Electrician Darrel Iverson of the University of North Dakota facilities department is an enthusiastic advocate of regular IR inspections. The UND facilities department borrows a camera twice a year to inspect the campus electrical system. Inspection records tell Iverson right where to go to work when semester breaks create a window of opportunity for repairs and preventive maintenance.

Preventive maintenance—finding and fixing a problem before it causes an outage—is a big cost saver for both power providers and their customers. Fort Morgan Light and Power in Colorado frequently borrows an IR camera for regular inspections of its key accounts' facilities as well as its own electrical system.

One of those accounts, Leprino Foods, put its large plant on a rotating inspection schedule enabling crews to perform repairs without loss of production time. Such inspections keep Fort Morgan's meters running and create a strong relationship between the utility and its customers, noted Electric Superintendent Larry Black.

New forms collect critical data

Stories like that, along with the pile of e-mail requests, tell us that customers appreciate being able to borrow equipment for free. But budgets, like the Devil, are in the details. We need more customers to tell us more "what, when, where, why and how" to demonstrate the program's tangible benefits. In an effort to get more of those details, we are redesigning the evaluation form that is sent out with every loan.

The new form asks specific questions about what the equipment was used for, what the borrower learned with the equipment and what, if any, corrective action was taken. Borrowers also have the opportunity to report difficulties operating the equipment and to suggest ideas that would make the tool easier to use.

The completed form must be returned with the equipment to ensure that the customer can borrow equipment in the future. "The goal is to increase the program's accountability. If we can't prove that it is providing a valuable service to Western customers, we can't continue to offer it," said Hoffmann. "We need our customers' help to do that."

Ideally, customers would also provide an estimate of the potential dollar cost of problems identified with a borrowed diagnostic tool, but that's not always possible. Knowing that the tool helped a utility prevent several hundred customers from losing power on a cold night or a hot day tells us the Equipment Loan Program is serving its purpose. And sometimes, the benefits are even less tangible, said Hoffmann. "One customer at a co-op in New Mexico said that their consumers could buy electricity for less from the investor-owned utility, but the co-op is more reliable," he explained. "It's hard to put a price tag on trust."

Different tools, different questions

Public outreach is another area where value is hard to quantify, so we have developed a different evaluation form for the lighting display and fuel cell kit. "People borrow educational displays for a different reason than diagnostic tools," Hoffmann observed. "The questions on the form are intended to give us ideas for tailoring material and adding new displays."

We are asking customers to tell us the purpose of the event where the display was used and what kind of audience attended. The question about audience feedback will help Energy Services improve its educational displays, as well as help borrowers evaluate their outreach programs.

Both forms carry a reminder to customers to avoid delays by reserving equipment ahead of time. "Energy efficiency is a hot topic right now, so we've been seeing more requests for diagnostic tools over the last several months," said Hoffmann. He added that lighting displays get snapped up quickly during Public Power Week, so advanced reservations are highly recommended.

Planning ahead is, after all, a critical part of controlling costs, and so is sharing tools—and information. The new equipment loan evaluation forms will make it easier for our customers to share the information we need to support them in providing low-cost, reliable power to their members and neighbors. And that's good for everybody's budget.

Resources

Equipment Loan Program

University of North Dakota facilities department

Fort Morgan Light and Power

People

Gary Hoffmann

Related articles

Energy Services Bulletin,
December 2003:
Equipment Loan Program helps university maintain efficiency, safety

Energy Services Bulletin,
February 2007:
Western's IR cameras help utilities, customers maintain efficiency

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