Energy User News articles from April 1987

Energy User News archives from April 1987

Airport office complex adds 1,200 points to UT2001 system. (facilities management system at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport office building)
April 6, 1987... Airport Office Complex Adds 1,200 Points to UT2001 System A 600-point facility management system controlling HVAC, fire alarms and security for three office buildings and a 120-room hotel at GTE Place in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport complex...

Hospital cedes 6-year savings in no-outlay guarantee deal. (Queensway General Hospital, Toronto; installation of energy-saving equipment)
April 6, 1987... Hospital Cedes 6-Year Savings In No-Outlay Guarantee Deal Queensway General Hospital here signed a no-outlay guaranteed savings agreement last month in which the hospital has agreed to cede the total energy savings to the installing...

Non-Mideast imports seen benign option for U.S. (petroleum imports)
April 6, 1987... Non-Mideast Imports Seen Benign Option for U.S. Though the U.S. will become increasingly dependent on foreign oil in the coming decade, reliance on the Mideast probably can be avoided, James Newcomb of Cambridge Energy Research Associates...

PG&E asks retroactive discretion on buybacks. (Pacific Gas and Electric cogeneration contracts)
April 6, 1987... PG&E Asks Retroactive Discretion On Buybacks Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) told federal regulators here that existing contracts with cogenerators should be declared nonbinding on the utility if their buyback rates are so high as to cause...

School cuts lighting retrofit payback 7 yrs. with util. grant. (Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington)
April 6, 1987... School Cuts Lighting Retrofit Payback 7 Yrs. With Util. Grant The payback on a $100,524 lighting retrofit at Green River Community College here was cut from 10 years to less than three years when Puget Sound Power and Light came up with...

Lighting projects cut museum elec. costs 50%. (Science Museum of Connecticut)
April 6, 1987... Lighting Projects Cut Museum Elec. Costs 50% The Science Musuem of Connecticut here is nearing the end of an eight-month no-outlay financing agreement on the replacement of incandescent lights throughout the museum with screw-in...

Modifying packing rings said to improve turbine efficiency.
April 6, 1987... Modifying Packing Rings Said To Improve Turbine Efficiency A consulting engineer here has developed a technique of modifying the packing rings on steam turbine shafts that reduces wear and can improve turbine efficiency by approximately 1...

Bill would allow retail sales of cogen. kwh. (cogenerated energy sales; Massachusetts Legislature bill)
April 6, 1987... Bill Would Allow Retail Sales of Cogen. Kwh A legislative committee took testimony last week on a bill that would allow cogenerators below 100 megawatts to sell their surplus power to an unaffiliated retail user. The buyer would have to...

N.J. OKs $6.10 gas from shortage-era deal. (South Jersey Gas Co. case)
April 6, 1987... N.J. OKs $6.10 Gas From Shortage-Era Deal State regulators have declined to penalize South Jersey Gas Co., here, for agreeing to buy Algerian gas when shortages appeared possible, an arrangement that still costs the utility $6.10 per...

Judge grants 7Cs to ANR Pipeline customers. (7C certificates; ANR Pipleine Co.)
April 6, 1987... Judge Grants 7Cs to ANR Pipeline Customers An administrative law judge with the Federal Energy. Regulatory Commission has issued an initial decision granting 7C certificates for 49 customers--all but one an industrial user--on ANR Pipeline...

IEA praises DOE's stance on oil import fee. (International Energy Agency; Department of Energy)
April 6, 1987... IEA Praises DOE's Stance on Oil Import Fee The executive director of the International Energy Agency has praised the Reagan administration's and the Department of Energy's adamant opposition to an oil import fee, saying such a tax would...

El Paso Electric Co. asks 33% hike for Palo Verde N-plant. (rate hike )
April 13, 1987... El Paso Electric Co. Asks 33% Hike for Palo Verde N-Plant EL PASO--Faced with the need to recover its investment in the Palo Verde nuclear plant, El Paso Electric Co. has asked the state Public Utility Commission for a 33 percent rate hike....

Performance becomes key to share deals. (shared savings plans for energy projects)
April 13, 1987... Performance Becomes Key to Share Deals NEW YORK--With the disappearance of tax incentives and accelerated depreciation for the investors and financial backers of shared savings deals, the emphasis in structuring no-outlay financing has...

R.I. eyes shared revenue financing for cogeneration. (Rhode Island)
April 13, 1987... R.I. Eyes Shared Revenue Financing for Cogeneration KINGSTON, R.I.--The State of Rhode Island has issued a request-for-proposal for a 14 Mw combined-cycle, gas-fired cogeneration system for the University of Rhode Island's main campus. ...

Senate OKs FUA repeal; House to weigh similar bill. (Fuel Use Act)
April 13, 1987... Senate OKs FUA Repeal; House to Weigh Similar Bill WASHINGTON--The Senate unanimously approved repeal of the Fuel Use Act and incremental pricing in a voice vote last Wednesday. Meanwhile, the House Energy and Power Subcommittee passed...

Util. rebates grow; lighting, thermal storage lead field.
April 13, 1987... Util. Rebates Grow; Lighting, Thermal Storage Lead Field NEW YORK--The number of utilities offering rebate programs for commercial and industrial users has more than tripled in the last three and a half years, with lighting equipment and...

Util. subsidizes user-service co. contracts. (New England Power Service Co.)
April 13, 1987... Util. Subsidizes User-Service Co. Contracts WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--New England Power Service Company, a subsidiary of New England Electric System (NEES) here, has begun subsidizing energy service companies that enter into performance contracts...

Cogen. steam to cut cannery gas costs $100K. (Furman Foods Inc.)
April 13, 1987... Cogen. Steam to Cut Cannery Gas Costs $100K NORTHUMBERLAND, Pa.--Furman Foods Co. expects to cut its natural gas costs by about $100,000 annually by purchasing steam from a 16-megawatt wood-fired cogeneration facility currently under...

Relamping cuts farm's elec. use; ups egg output. (Maine egg farm energy savings)
April 13, 1987... Relamping Cuts Farm's Elec. Use; Ups Egg Output BRUNSWICK, Maine--A 27,000-chicken egg farm here is anticipating a three-month pay-back from a $760 relamping project completed Feb. 5 that was half-funded by a rebate from Central Maine...

Rebates will shorten payback on new TES. (thermal energy storage system in Phoenix library)
April 13, 1987... Rebates Will Shorten Payback on New TES PHOENIX, Ariz.--Based on the performance of a DOE-financed thermal energy storage (TES) system that has been operating for two years in a 6,500-square-foot public library here, the city has decided to...

Take-or-pay squeeze may hike Kansas gas rates by 16%.
April 13, 1987... Take-or-Pay Squeeze May Hike Kansas Gas Rates by 16% TOPEKA--Charging an interstate pipeline, Williams Natural Gas Co., with imprudent take-or-pay commitments, the gas utility here has objected to the pipeline's bid to hike its price by 16...

Incremental pricing passage uncertain: Sen. (Bennett Johnston)
April 13, 1987... Incremental Pricing Passage Uncertain: Sen. WASHINGTON--Repeal of the Fuel Use Act should breeze through Congress this month, but the fate of the incremental pricing repeal provisions of the FUA bill is less certain, Senate Energy and Natural...

Energy management in restaurants; Jack-in-the-Box franchise installs 30Kw pkgd. cogen.
April 20, 1987... Energy Management in Restaurants BRYAN, Texas--A 30-kw packaged cogeneration unit, linked to four 6-ton desiccant heating and air conditioning units, is expected to save a Jack-in-the-Box fast food restaurant here at least 15 percent in...

Recently built steam grid struggles with revenue gap.
April 20, 1987... Recently Built Steam Grid Struggles With Revenue Gap TRENTON N.J.--The three-year-old district heating system here, faced with financial problems blamed on insufficient sales volume, has begun signaling the state government--its chief...

Rebate tips scale toward TES for Ariz. school district. (thermal energy storage system)
April 20, 1987... Rebate Tips Scale Toward TES for Ariz. School Dist. TEMPE, Ariz.--A $22,850 utility rebate has brought the price for a 50-ton thermal energy for a 50-ton thermal Tempe Union High School District's new auditorium within the range of the...

Test relamping prompts W.R. Grace chain project. (energy saving lamps installed in CoCo's and Reuben's restaurants)
April 20, 1987... Test Relamping Prompts W.R. Grace Chain Project ORANGE, Calif.--Based on a recently-completed $12,000, 2.5-month test relamping with screw-in fluorescent and high-pressure sodium lights at one of its restaurant facilities here, W.R. Grace &...

FERC order further pressures non-436 pipelines. (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Order 436 waivers)
April 20, 1987... FERC Order Further Pressures Non-436 Pipelines WASHINGTON--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted last week to tighten the noose around the necks of pipelines with unresolved Order 436 cases in an order that effectively means...

Energy-saving aspect fails to salvage 'beautification' plan. (Austin, Texas, Capitol Building)
April 20, 1987... Energy-Saving Aspect Fails to Salvage 'Beautification' Plan AUSTIN, Texas--The architect at Texas's historic state Capitol Building here planned to sell a preservation and beautification project to legislators on the basis of energy savings,...

Calif. utils seeks new link for Northwest kwh. (Pacific Northwest electric transmission line)
April 20, 1987... Calif. Utils. Seek New Link for Northwest Kwh SAN FRANCISCO-- California's investor-owned utilities have asked for state approval to begin construction on a transmission line to carry surplus electricity from the Pacific Northwest. The...

BPA conservation program to save alum. mfrs. $190M. (Bonneville Power Administration)
April 27, 1987... BPA Conservation Program To Save Alum. Mfrs. $190M PORTLAND, Ore.--A new industrial conservation program for the 10 aluminum smelters here that consume over one-fourth of the Bonneville Power Administration's output is expected to save the...

DOE grant and share deal revives hospital installation. (United States Department of Energy; Gila Hospital in Globe, Arizona)
April 27, 1987... DOE Grant and Share Deal Revives Hospital Installation GLOBE, Ariz.--The collapse of a third-party financing deal for a 200-kw cogeneration system turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Gila Hospital here when a local contractor rescued...

Illinois court to determine pipeline antitrust vulnerability. (Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co.)
April 27, 1987... Illinois Court to Determine Pipeline Antitrust Vulnerability PEORIA, Ill.--A landmark Federal District Court decision, expected here in the next few weeks, will take an important step toward defining the extent to which pipelines can be...

New controls; HVAC retrofit to save firm $93K per year. (heating, ventilation, air conditioning; Maritime Realty)
April 27, 1987... New Controls; HVAC Retrofit To Save Firm $93K Per Year WILMINGTON, Del.--A comprehensive building efficiency retrofit, expected to be completed next month at the American International Building (AIB) here, includes variable speed drives on...

Pipeline hq. eyes leasing deal despite diminished savings. (Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Co. cogeneration plant)
April 27, 1987... Pipeline Hq. Eyes Leasing Deal Despite Diminished Savings KANSAS CITY, Mo.--Officials contemplating a cogeneration installation at the headquarters building of Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Co. here are willing to forego about 80 percent of a...

N.J. hearing may spur new cogen. regs. (New Jersey Assembly nitrogen oxide emissions standards)
April 27, 1987... N.J. Hearing May Spur New Cogen. Regs TRENTON, N.J.--As a result of a recent hearing involving state officials, users and developers of cogeneration projects, Assemblywoman Maureen Ogden (R-22nd) may introduce legislation regulating...

Dwindling role seen for small cogen. firms. (column)
April 27, 1987... Dwindling Role Seen For Small Cogen. Firms SAN DIEGO--Some recent cogeneration acquisitions by Energy Factors Inc., here, and by Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. have spurred speculation that the heyday of the small cogeneration developer may be...

Delaware PSC grants Airco special rate. (Public Service Commission, Airco Industrial Gases)
April 27, 1987... Delaware PSC Grants Airco Special Rate DOVER, Del.--Rejecting the advice of its own consultant, the Public Service Commission here earlier this month approved a special negotiated rate between Airco Industrial Gases, Murray Hill, N.J., and...

Study faults nuke plant 'prudence reviews.' (energy planning reviews )
April 27, 1987... Study Faults Nuke Plant 'Prudence Reviews' WASHINGTON--Although stringent "prudence reviews" being conducted on some nuclear power plants may save ratepayers sharp rate hikes in the short run, they also seem to be urging utility planners...

EMS, lighting retrofit saves $25G annually. (energy management systems; Baltimore's Rotunda building)
April 27, 1987... EMS, Lighting Retrofit Saves $25G Annually BALTIMORE--A $50,000 EMS installation and lighting retrofit is saving the 65-year-old Rotunda building here about $25,000 annually and is halfway through a projected two-year payback, according to an...