ML20031A461
| ML20031A461 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Susquehanna  |
| Issue date: | 09/15/1981 |
| From: | Mcnair G PENNSYLVANIA POWER & LIGHT CO. |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20031A420 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8109230539 | |
| Download: ML20031A461 (36) | |
Text
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION IUjLATEt! NORRESPONDENCP BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of
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PENNSYLVANIA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY
)
)
and
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Docket Nos. 50-387
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50-388 ALLEG.ENY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. )
)
(Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, )
Units 1 and 2)
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SEP 171981
- n-APPLICANTS' TESTIMONY OF 9.
D 'N" hreby I l GRAYSON E. McNAIR ON CONTENTION 4c (CONSERVATION)
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i September 15, 1981 l
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i September 15, 1981 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of
)
)
PENNSYLVANIA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY
)
)
and
)
)
Docket Nos. 50-387 ALLEGHENY ELECTRIC CGsPERATIVE
)
50-388
)
(Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, )
Units 1 and 2)
)
TESTIMONY OF GRAYSON E. McNAIR ON CONTENTION 4C (CONSERVATION)
Q.
Plea ^e state our full name and business' address.
A.
Grayson-E. McNair, Two North Ninth Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101.
Q.
By whom are you employed and in what capacity?
A.
I am employed by Pennsylvania Power & Light Company (PP&L) as Vice President-Consumer and Community Services.
Q.
What are your responsibilities as Vice President-Consumer and Community Services?
A.
I am respo~nsible for the development and administration of l
PP&L's conservation and load management prog:fams, customer services, rates, market research, customer-relation activities and economic and community development programs.
I am also responsible for research and development of ways the customer can more wisely use electric energy supple-mented by alternata energy resources.
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e 2-Q.
What is your educational background?
A.
I received a BEE degree from the University of Virginia in 1962; completed the General Electric Power Systems Engineering course in Schenectady, New York in 1967; became a registered Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1968; completed several post-graduate courses in electrical engineering at Lehigh University; and was Visiting Lecturer in Electrical Engineering for three years at Lehigh University.
Q.
How long have you been employed by PP&L and in what capacities?
h.
I joined PP&L in 1962 as a Graduate Trainee followed by assignment to Distribution Engineering in 1963 with responsibilities for design of overhead and underground 12 kv facilities.
In 1964 I was transferred to the Relay and Control Engineering group and became Project Engineer in 1966, representing PP&L on the Conemaugh Relay and Commun-ications Task Force for designing protective relaying for the 500 kv transmission lines.
I was also Chairman of the Transient Stability Committee.
In 1968, I transferred to the Interconnection Planning Section of the System Planning Department as a Project Engineer.
Af ter being a Senior l
Project Engineer, I was named Transmission and Distribution l
l Planning Engineer in 1971 with responsibilities for long-l and short-term planning of all electrical facilities l
. operating at less than 230 kv.
In 1975, I became Assistant Manager-Rates & Market Research.
I assumed the position of Manager-Conservation Services in 1978.
On January 1, 1980, I was appointed to my'present position.
Q.
What is the purpose of your testimony?
A.
The purpose of my testimony is to respond to Contention 4(c) in this proceeding.
This contention alleges:
The National Energy Program contemplates that steps be followed in order to achieve a lowered growth rate in electrical demand of less than 2% annually.
Yet there has been no demonstration that the effects of conserva-tion efforts designed to achieve that goal have been factored into the analysis of need for this facility.
The conservation programs suggested by the Applicants are not designed to encourage either meaningful energy conser-vation or efficient energy use.
- Instead, these programs are aimed at encouraging continued electrical energy usage, regard-I less of whether electricity is the most efficient form of energy for the job at hand or not.
One such example is the Applicants' encouragement of reliance on expensive elec-
4 trically operated mechanical heating and cooling devices, like heat pumps, in the nane of energy conservation.
As another example, there has been no comparison of the cost of upgrading the thermal insulation in existing residences and commercial buildings in the service area of the Applicants with the cust' (environmental and' economic) of operating the Susquehanna facilities.
Furthermore, there has been no discussion, in connection with energy conservation, of end use efficiencies or what have come to be known as "Second Law Efficiencies," or of the health benefits of energy conservation.
Q.
Mr. McNair, would you please explain the background for PP&L's conservation progra.m and policies in relation to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (Susquehanna) and this proceeding.
A.
By way of historical perspective, substantive consideration of Susquehanna began in the mid-1960's, and the bulk of the initial site was purchased by this time period.
Major equipment orders, including a nuclear steam supply system contract (with General Electric), were placed by early 1972.
l Actual construction began at the plant site in late 1973.
At the time the Company decided to go ahead with Susque-
hanna we had experienced an 8.9% compound growth rate in winter peaks for the 1960/7969 period, and we were then fore-casting a 7.0% growth rate in winter peaks for the 1972/1982 period.
The projected 7.0% growth rate was modest in rela-tion to historical growth rate patterns for the electric utility industry and represented a substantial flattening of the 10.1% growth rate PP&L had experienced for the 1965/1971 period.
Even with the substantially flattened growth curve forecast in 1972, the installation of the Susquehanna units was projected as barely keeping PP&L current with its then projected 18% Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Intercon-
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nection (PJM) capacity reserve obligation.
Additional units beyond Susquehanna were planned to be in service in the 1980's.
In the late 1960's and early 1970's ppa?'s management began to sense a change in much of what had been traditional in the electric utility business.
An awareness developed l
regarding the impact of inflation on the cost of new power production facilities and the realization that the growth cycle, which had been our theory for reducing rates during the decade of the 1960's, was no longer valid.
This knowl-edge, coupled with an awareness of the impact of exponential growth in demand on the finite fuel supplies available, pre-cipitated a change in early 1972 from our previous aggres-sive energy marketing posture to a new role of energy con-servation.
l l
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0 A restructuring of our former marketing organization ---
reoriented toward energy conservation --- was undertaken in early 1972 and implemented by mid-year.
This change re-sulted in a new approach to customers regarding the econom-ics of energy.
The new approach was based on life cycle costs of equipment, facilities, and energy supplies rather than current costs.
Making this change was not easy.
To the best of my knowledge, PP&L was among the first utilities in the United States to organize and develop programs aimed at reducing the growth in peak' load and energy use.
Q.
Would you please outline some of PP&L's early conservation programs?
A.
PP&L's early conservation programs were principally educa-tional in nature, since we were attempting to increase our customers' level of awareness of the impending energy crisis as we perceived it.
Efforts included both meetings with ind'.viduals and groups of customers from the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, and the use of bill inserts and newspaper advertising.
Some of our typical early programs included Home-ecology, a Builder-Developer Information Book, agricultural workshops and other consumer education programs.
These efforts were made in our attempt to disseminate information regarding energy supplies and means by which customers could reduce their energy con-n
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. sumption.
These initial programs included the development and continual updating of " Insulation Standards and Recommen-dati. "" for All-Weather Comfort" for use with those con-structing new residential units.
These Standards and Recommendations specified energy conservation construction techniques which could be employed easily.
We also developed an " Energy Management Guide" for use by our larger industrial and commercial customers so that they could
. establish energy management teams in their business enter-prises to effect conservation measures.
This highly recognized guide was adopted by the U.S.
Department of Commerce in 1975 as a model, and was also recommended by the Federal Energy Administration.
Finally, as an attempt to t
establish a factual data base for these early programs, in 1974 we constructed an energy conservation research home in Schnecksv111e which tested a variety of concepts in insula-tion techniques, heat recovery and solar utilization.
This installation provided significant guidance for our later conservation programs.
Q.
Mr. McNair, has PP&L developed any conservation related corporate goals?
A.
Yes, it has.
From the first recognition in the early 70's of the need to exercise wiser stewardship of our energy resources, PP&L has played the role of a catalyst ---
encouraging our customers to practice conservation and make
. wise use of all forms of energy.. Research, development and exposition of the results of innovative ways to reduce the amount of energy from nonrenewable sources were undertaken by the Company to enhance its role as catalyst.
In 1977, PP&L was faced with (1) the uncertainties of electric demand growth rates after the aberrations in oil and natural gas supplies and prices, and (2) the prospect of having to commit to the start of another generating plant beyond Susquehanna.for an in-service date of the late 1980's or early 1990's.
In response to these factors PP&L adopted a corporate objective to reduce peak load growth to an average annual compound growth rate of no greater than 2-1/2 percent from 1977 (4500 MW peak) to 1995 (7020 MW peak).
The Company also conducted an extensive study of its long-term generating capacity needs in relation to various projected rates of customer load growth.
This study indicated a need for even more aggressive energy and demand management (EM/DM) programs if we were to restrain the rate of load growth within our ability to provide adequate-capacity and to reduce the drain on our finite resources until alternktive or improved energy sources became avai]-
able.
In 1978 PP&L began an expanded conservation program
- des,
.'ed to imp.ement its 2-1/2% load growth objective, by achieving a reduction of peak or maximum load through a reduction in energy use.
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The target figure of 2-1/2% reflected.our desire to defer the need for new future capacity additions without, however, undercutting our ability to meet customer needs.
It is our view that the pursuit of this goal will conserve natural resources, will gain time for the development of new energy technology, and will help minimize future customer costs.
With an annual growth rate of 2-1/2%, major changes in lifestyles and standards of living should set be required.
Q.
How does PP&L intenf achieve its conservation objective?
A.
To meet our objective, PP&L's expanded conservation program is being implemented in stages.
The first phase provides for increased consumer education and assistance relative to conservation of both electrical and other energy fuel forms, primarily relying on customers to voluntarily respond to the conservation ethic.
The second phase is the establishment of various rate schedules encouraging further voluntary j
electrical energy conservation and demand control.
The l
l third phase includes c asideration and implementation of various Company contingency plans that may result in forced conservation and more direct utility control of customer l
de' mand.
Q.
Would you describe some of PP&L's mora significant conser-l l
vation programs and their respective msults?
A.
PP&L has implemented conservation prog as in several areas.
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. RESIDENTIAL In th'e residential area, our efforts have been directed toward improved insulation in new home construction, free energy audits of existing homes to recommend energy-saving measures, promotion of energy efficient appliances, promo-tion of energy saving draft sealer kits and water heater insulation kits and encouragement of energy conservation habits by residential customers.
The Company also developed an Energy Efficient Home Award Program and offered National Energy Watch (N.E.W.) recognition awards.
The.N.E.W.
Program, developed by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) for electric utilities and refin d by local utilities, was designed to recognize new and exiucing homes which meet the minimum conservati;; standards of this industry-wide program regardless ci the type of fuel used.
The Energy Efficien. Home Award Program, a more stringent variation of the N.E.W. Program, recognized new electrically heated homes which utilized the highest insulation standards in conjunction with installation of a heat pump as the pri-mary heating source.
Savings of approximately 4.5 MW and 14,544,000 kWh were realized as a result of this program.
At the time the Energy Efficient Home Award Program was implemented, several independent reports had verified the efficiency of the heat pump in relation to other electri-cally operated heating systems.
This program was discon-
l
, tinued in 1981 when the Company instituted Supplement 72 to its tariff.
This supplement, discussed in detail below, required new buildings to meet certain minimum insulation levels.
In ooth the N.E.W. and Energy Efficient Home Award programs, PP&L's objective was to recognize customers whose homes met recommended thelmal levels, and to educate the consumer on the most efficient usage of electrical devic ;
for space heating as well as the benefits of proven energy ctnservation applications.
The sum of these efforts in the residential area have produced meaningful results, with a 52.6 MW demand reduction and 121.8 million kWh annualized energy savings since 1978.
As discussed belcw, we expect our conservation program to achieve even greater energy savings and demand reductions.
Ther:nography In an effort to heighten awareness of energy conservation among our customers, PP&L has developed and is implementing a program in aerial infrared thermography.
The program encompasses a total of 260,000 residential and industrial /
commercial customers in selected areas of Allentown-Bethlehem, Harrisburg and Lancaster.
A successful pilot program conducted in Scranton in the winter of 1979-80 prompted the extension of this program to these additional areas for the winter of 1981-82.
Black and white "thermo-
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grams" graphically demonstrate the relative effectiveness of insulation in the roof area of the homes and businesses surveyed.
Through meetings with the customers early next year, we hope to motivate them to increase insulation levels in the roof and ceiling areas to achieve significant savings.
Energy Efficient Appliances Ener:;y officient appliances such as high Energy Efficient Rating (EER) air conditioners and energy efficient refrig-erators are being promoted along with encouragement for development of efficiency standards for all electric appliances.
Improvement in appliance efficiency represents a potential reduction in peak load by 1990 of 40 MW and reduced energy consumption of 200 million kWh.
Least Impact Systems Demonstration Programs This program is designed to identify and confirm specific electric space heating systems which have the least impact on PP&L's peak loads.
The goal of this demonstration pro-gram is to identify customers and/or builders who already plan t'o install electric heat in new homes and encourage them to optimize heating system efficiencies by installing a "least impact system."
PP&L.is implementing this demonstra-tion program to achieve the installation of 250 supplemental electric storage system heat pumps and 250 dual-fuel heat pumps.
PP&L will monitor these systems to confirm our pro-
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jections of the impact on load growth, electric use and peak demand (Ref. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).
Residential Conservation Service Programs l
l PP&L in response to the regulations promulgated by the l
U.S. Department of Energy under the National Energy Con-servation Policy Act, has developed a Residential Conser-l vation Service (RCS) Program which offers in-house audits of existing homes and apartments.
PP&L Residential Consultants have been trained in conducting comprehensive home energy audits and are certified by the State.
The audits provide a complete basement-to-attic survey of the home's energy efficiency.
A computerized analysis is made on the spot and a report presented to the customer covering:
low-cost and no-cost practices for saving energy, a list of energy con-servation measures in order of pay-back, an estimate of the cost to install these measures, recommendations regarding the customer's heating system where applicable and, if re-1 quested, assistance in selecting a contractor or lending institution.
INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL Industrial and commercial programs have resulted in the formation of over 1400 active and ongoing energy management teams made up of customer personnel who continuously monitor and recommend methods of conserving all types of energy in their business enterprises or institutions.
The electrical l
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requirements of thcse customers with energy' management teams represent nearly 1500 megawatts of demand, or nearly 60 percent of the total demand of our industrial and commercial customers.
PP&L recognizes those companies doing the best job of conservation by presenting them with Energy Management Awards.
In addition, we also have presented Energy Saver Awards to various smaller industrial and commercial customers, and Architect / Engineer Awards to designers of outstanding conservation projects.
In addition to these energy management activities, our Industrial and Commercial Consultants have had a significant impact on the design and construction of efficient buildings and energy systems for new buildings over 5,000 square feet.
They also make recommendations for application of energy conservation techniques within these structures.
f We also conduct meetings for architects and consulting engineers and the top management of our leading manufac-turing customers to advise them of our concerns regarding energy supplies and the need for their active participation in helping to achieve our conservation goals.
Since 1978, Industrial and Commercial Program efforts have contributed 113 7 MW demand reduction and 255.2 million kWh annualized l
energy savings.
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. In addition to customer load and energy savings, PP&L has conducted an intensive conservation program within its own facilities.
Since 1976,, average energy consumption in Company facilities has decreased from 133,015 Btu /sq. ft. to 94,430 Btu /sq. ft., a reduction of 8.9% annually.
CONSUMER INFORMATION AND EDUCATION We feel that another important element of our conser-vation program is providing consumers with accurate infor-mation regarding energy use.
Since we are in the energy business, we believe we have an insight into the realities of the future of energy supply and cost, and feel it incumbent upon us to communicate with customers informa-l tion which lu.the long run will enable them to make informed i
buying decisions regarding energy supply and utilization equipment and systems.
Therefore, we will continue to keep well informed of developments and projections with regard to energy supply and cost to assist our customers, builders, developers, and building designers in making wise choices with respect to building design and construction as well as l
t the energy systems employed within these structures.
Our efforts will be directed toward reducing energy consumption while building flexibility into process heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems so that customers will achieve i
the minimum long-range cost for energy.
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. Although we consider our conservation programs to have been successful in contributing to reduced energy consump-tion as well as a reduction in peak loads on our system, we believe that the public attitude toward conservation is changing and, therefore, we will be expanding our activities te increase tLe rate of acceptance of conservation options.
Complementing the conservation programs described above, the Company initiated, in 1979, a broad-based energy education program.
This program recognized the long-term nature of the energy problem and the need to educate con-sumers in order that they can make wise decisions on future energy choices.
The program has two major components ---
energy education in schools and adult energy education.
The school energy education program is a broad-based effort j
to work with educators in developing instructional materials on energy for use in local schools.
The adult energy education program utilizes presentations, displays and literature in sessions with employees and consumer groups to l
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increase their awareness of the need to conserve energy and offer ways to reduce their energy use.
COMMUNITY PLANNING In 1979, PP&L prepared a comprehensive report titled
" Energy Conservation Ideas for Community. Planning," that discussed and supported land use planning approaches which
. local governments can use in seeking the conservation of energy in community development.
The concepts presented in this report can be a key instrument in dealing with energy conservation issues related to community development.
However, under the pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, local governments, not electric utilities, guide and regulate their overall physical development by preparing comprehensive plans to adopt and enforce land use controls.
It is, therefore, the responsibility and prerogative of local municipalities to make community development contribute toward the achievement of energy conservation.
In summary, our expanded conservation program has achieved 166.3 MW demand reduction and 377.0 million kWh annualized energy savings.
These energy and demand savings are described in detail in Table I.
1 l
TABLE 1
SUMMARY
OF ENERGY AND DEMAND SAVINGS Cumulative Total (Includes Reduction in Peak Demand (MW) 1978 1979 1980 2nd Qtr.1981)
Residential Thermal Conditioning-New 73 8.1 9.0 30.8 Thermal Conditioning-Existing 1.3 4.6 12.6 20.1 Heating / Cooling System
.6
.2
.9 Conversions, Water Heating,
.1
.3
.8 Etc.
8.6 13.4 22.1 52.6 Industrial & Commercial Lighting 5.9 6.1 17.3 36 0 Heating / Cooling systems 7.2 12.6 15.0 41.5 Shifts to off-peak 3.5 3.1 1.3 13 5 Process, water heating, etc.
6.4 4.4 5.5 22.7 23.0 26.2
.39.1 113.7 TOTAL 31.6 39.6 61.2 166 3 Annualized Energy Savings (millions of kWh)
Residential Thermal Conditioning-New 22.6 23.2 26.3 88.9 Thermal Conditioning-Existing 5
15.2 13.6 30.8 Heating / Cooling System
.5
.2
.8 Conversions, Water Heating,
.4
.3 1.3 Etc.
23.1 30.3 40.4 121.8 Industrial & Commercial Lighting 22.0 18.6 62.0 123.8 Heating and Cooling Systems 11.9 25.2 31.1 78 4 Process, water heating, etc.
20.7 6.9 12.1 53.0 54.6 50.7 105.2 255.2 TOTAL 77.7 90.0 l45.6 377.0
. Q.
Mr. McNair, are there any rates being implemented by PP&L which encourage conservation and load management?
A.
Yes, there are.
In order to develop data with respect to not only the load reduction potential in a variety of new rate designs, but also to test their impact on the consumer, we had included several innovative rate proposals in our 1980 rate filing, which were approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (Pa. PUC) and became effective January 30, 1981 under Supplem'ent 77.
First, an economic incentive is included to encourage off-peak storage systems for residential domestic bot water use and space heating purposes - rate schedule RTS.
A new elec-trically heated home imposes approximately 10 kW demand on our system at time of system peak.
By charging a storage medium at night (off-peak hours) that demand impact can be reduced to around 2 kW at time of system peak.
We, there-fore, plan to communicate with new home builders the bene-fits to the homeowner that can be achieved through this rate.
We will also communicate with distributors of heat storage equipment to inform them of the availability of. the rate.
We have been testing a central, heat-storage system.
this past winter in our Schnecksville research home for which we have previous energy use data.
Thus, we will have
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some data regarding the efficiency of central storage systems which wo plan to share with customers interested in heat-storage applications.
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Second, PP&L is implementing the lower rate for off-peak water heating contained in rate schedule RS.
The incre-mental cost to provide the required separate wiring for the water heater in a new installation should be conLiderably less than retrofitting an existing home.
While we plan to publicize the availability of these rates to all_our residential customers, we will concentrate on the new home market where we expect our efforts will meet with greater success.
Third, an experiment with residential time-of-use rates (rate schedule RX) is being offered by PP&L to see if people are willing to change their lifestyle by shifting most of their electricity usage to off-peak periods in exchange for lower electric bills.
Information gathered from these experiments will be used in developing future strategies to use pricing as an economic incentive to accomplish conser-vation and energy management goals.
Fourth, as part of our overall effort to reduce the rate of growth of demand for electricity on the PP&L system, we will begin replacing the electric meters of' residential customers who use more than 50,000 kilowatt-hours a year (demand measurement provision of rate schedule RS).
The new meters will measure both total electrical energy used and the highest demand for electricity in any 15 minute period during the billing month.
Hopefully, this will encourage demand control and conservation among our high-use customers.
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Q.
Has PP&L considered implementing any mandatory conservation measures?
A.
Yes.
As indicated previously, much of what we have done in the area of conservation activities relates to voluntary re-sponse on the part of customers, either because of the economic impact of rising energy costs or because of their response to a national concern.
Many of the actions which have been implemented by customers involved little or no capital investment, but rather a change in patterns of use.
We are at the point where many further conservation achievements will require an economic investment on the part of the consumer and, therefor 9, the potential for additional kW savings resulting from our numerous conservation programs directed toward the existing market will be minimal.
The other alternative to produce positive results involves the adoption of rules and regulations to produce the desired results.
What we are proposing in our future energy conser-vation program incorporates some aspects of both economic incentives and mandatory or regulatory requirements.
One of the principal components of future load growth on the PP&L system is the electrically heated home or apart-ment.
The Pa. PUC approved PP&L's Tariff Supplement 72 which required c;l new buildings, after April 1, 1981, to meet certain minimum insulation levels to qualify for an electric service connection.
This mandatory program would
. reduce the 1990 peak load by 75 megawatts with a corresponding reduction in kilowatt-hour sales of 250 million.
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court recently barred implementation of the mandatory provisions of Supplement 72.
While this decision is being appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, we will continue to promote effective insulation levels to achieve reductions in peak load.
Q.
Has PP&L received any recognition for its conservation efforts?
A.
Our activities in energy conservation have earned us recognition from a number of sources.
These include:
1.
An award from the Clean Air Council of the Lehigh Valley for the construction of our-Energy Conservation Solar Research Home in Schnecksville.
2.
An award from the Engineering Society in the.
Delaware Valley for this same conservation l
home project.
3.
The SavEnergy citation given by the United States Department of Commerce for our outstanding industrial energy management j
program.
4.
Recognition from the Federal Energy Admin-istration (now DOE) for our Utility l
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Conservation Action Now (UCAN) program which was judged to be one of the outstanding programs in District 3 of the Federal Energy Administration.
5.
Citations by " Electrical World" and " Wall Street Journal" for outstanding efforts in the field of energy conservation.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives commended PP&L for its innovative " Electric Use Profile" information
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presented on residential service bills in the form of a histogram.
A graph on the customer's bill illustrating kWh usage each month over the thirteen previous months provides each customer with a visible means of comparing energy usage from month to month.
PP&L received an Honorable Mention Award from the Pennsylvania Electric Association for this same project in recognition of a residential program having significant impact.
PP&L also received a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for our. Montour Greenhouse project.
This research project utilizes the waste heat generated by the Montour plant to warm a greenhouse, thereby eliminating the fuel consumption normally utilized to maintain required temperatures within the greenhouse.
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Q.
What research activities has PP&L undertaken in connection with its conservation programs?
A.
PP&L's initial research efforts in conservation concen-trated primarily upon better insulation techniques, reducing air infiltration, and improved door and window glazing.
Many of the Company's concepts were demonstrated in its Energy Efficient Solar Research home, built in 1974.
One of the most notable of these was our advocacy of polyurethane or other insulating sheathing to provide a tight thermal envelope around the home.
This measure has since be.wa adopted as standard construction by a majority of builders in the Company's area.
Research efforts next moved to refining the energy utilization systems within the home.
The Company sponsored construction of six bicentennial homes in 1976.
These homes not only used the insulation techniques mentioned earlier, but also contained a variety of high efficiency heating and water heating systems mostly utilizing innovative heat pump designs -- some coupled with solar heating.
Most recently, our research has been more specifically aimed at developing a variety of off-peak heating and cooling systems which will significantly reduce the growth rate of the Company's peak loads.
Examples of these include:
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. 1.
Off-peak Heat Storage us12g a variety of storage media, such as water, ceramic bricks and phase-change materials; 2.
Off-peak Cooling Storage utilizins ice builders where cooling loads are contributing 1
significantly to customer peak load; 3.
Constant Energy Input System where relatively low electric resistance capacity with hot water storage is used to levelize heating systems.
Other research efforts include:
1.
Study of Thermal Qualities of Earth-bermed Structures:
PP&L is studying the thermal characteristics of earth-bermed walls.
This study will assist PP&L in determining the optimal thermal insulation characteristics for passive solar earth-sheltered homes and for the basements of conventional homes where controversy exists over the proper levels of insulation.
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2.
Heat Pump Water Heater Test:
This test will help to determine the energy demand characteristics of the Department of Energy-sponsored energy utilization systems.
Heat pump water heaters are being monitored in laboratory and field conditions.
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3.
Low Wattage vs. Quick Recovery Water Heater Tests:
These tests were established to compare the en ergy use of low-wattage and quick-recovery wster heaters in residential use.
In addi-tion, modifications designed to save energy in heating water will be tested and reported.
4.
Water Heater Temperature Study:
lis study will help to determine the relationship between electric water heater thermostat setting and the actual tempera-ture.
The study is being conducted in employee homes.
5.
ka:ar-Source Heat Pump Study:
pP&L is investigating the economy and reliability of water-source heat pumps and the particular problems related to water use and disposal.
6.
Optimal Power Factor Controller:
The use of this power factor controller will help PP&L determine the energy and demand-saving characteristics of new solid-state power factor controllers for i.1 duction motors developed by NASA.
Both laboratory and field testing will be performed.
Application areas and savings potentials will be identified.
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7.
Electronic Ballast Test:
Through this test, PP&L expects to determine energy saved by using the electronic ballast system as opposed to two high-efficiency magnetic ballast systems.
The study also expects to determine the relative performance of certain illumination system parameters and to collect reiiable data on all ballast systems involved.
8.
High Pressure Sodium Interior Lighting:
A study of employee and visitor reaction to high pressure sodium lighting in the office and rest area of the Company's training center was undertaken to determine if these light sources should be recommended to our customers for office environments.
9.
Appliance Interlock Control Systems:
Various control systems have been tested, such as interlocks between major appliance loads to prevent these loads from operating simultaneously.
These research activites not only involve study work but include data gathering and monitoring of installations in FP&L's service area.
Our load research metering and computer translation of multi-track magnetic tapes have
allowed us to expand our metering efforts to these research projects.
Additional projects will be undertaken in the future such as determining the impact on energy use of increased window areas to provide internal daylighting.
In addition to its own research efforts, PP&L provides a significant financial contribution to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the electric industry's research arm.
EPRI currently sponsors some 45 conservation-related research projects totaling S7.4 million.
The technology
" transfer" expected from EPRI research should have a significant future impact in utility conservation efforts with customers.
Q.
What future conservation programs does PP&L plan?
A.
We will try to reach out into the existing home market to improve insulation levels for all customers, regardless of fuel use.
This program, developed in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Residential Conservation Service Program (RCS),
involves a home energy audit conductcd for interested customers by well-trained PP&L consulta'ts.
We visualize that this program will have an impact an total energy consumption which will exceed the direct value to the Company in reducing peak loads.
However, we feel that there is potential for reducing the demand impact of existing electrically heated homes by approximately 70 megawatts and 230 million kWh in 1990.
The success of this
. I program will depend to a great degree upon the impact of rising energy costs and the pressures brought to bear on the consumer by federal and state energy programs.
Q.
Section III(d)(6) of the "Public Utility Regulatory Policies l
Act of 1978" (PURPA) provides that each electric utility must offer its customers such load management techniques which the State Regulatory Authority has determined will be cost effective, reliable and provide useful energy or capacity management advantages to the electric utility.
Would you please state what PP&L is doing to comply with this standard?
A.
As early as 1973, and periodically since then, PP&L has investigated load management techniques but has not been able to justify direct utility control techniques.
We continue to stay abreast of technology in this area and periodically review the cost / benefits.
We have, however, concentrated our efforts in research and development of load management techniques which the customer can utilize to his own benefit while at the same time minimizing the demand impact on the electric system.
PP&L has determined that the most cost-effective load l
management technique in the residential area is the instal-lation of adequate levels of insulation when the dwelling unit is initially constructed.
For that reason, we filed I
Supplement 72 requiring minimum insulation levels in all new structures as a prerequisite for electric service.
O,
4 The Company is presently evaluating a computerized simu-lation model that will permit us to make more and better analyses of various load management techniques.
We must have the capability to more' easily analyze both the energy and demand impacts of these techniques to appropriately assess energy / demand costs and benefits.
In summary, PP&L is actively encouraging voluntary load management by its customers at the present time, implement-ing various time-of-use and demand-sensitive rates for further voluntary load management efforts, researching additional techniques applicable to customer use, and 4
continually reviewing the state of the art of direct utility-controlled load management techniques to be in a position to offer them when they can be demonstrated to be cost effective.
Q.
What has PP&L done regarding "Second Law Efficiencies?"
A.
The "Second Law Efficiencies" are sometimes referred to as the ratio of the least available work that could perform a given task to the available work actually consumed.
I prefer the analogy of " Don't use an elephant gun to shoot rabbits," or use the appropriate energy source for the job to be done.
"Second Law Efficiencies" provides an efficiency ratio i
for measuring resource utilization.
It does not, however, l
take into account many other important criteria for i
O
- systems to be used.
These other factors include economic costs for installation and operation, social impacts, environmental effects, and acceptance by those ultimately using the energy.
Thermodynamic concepts alone cannot be the basis for determining reaources utilization and system selection.
As discussed in the testimony on Contention 4D, DP&L is 1
actively pursuing energy utilization techniques with improved "Second Law Efficiencies".
However, the other criteria identified above will prevent wide implementation 1
of these techniques in the near term.
Considering the fact that the energy generated by Susquehanna will substitute for more expensive energy generated by fossil-fueled facilities, "Second Law Efficiencies" are not relevant to a consid-eration of the need for Susquehanna.
Q.
Mr. McNair, would you discuss the health benefits of con-servation versus generation of electricity.
l A.
When the era of low energy costs changed to an increasing cost era, the side effects of conservation were all con-sidered beneficial.
For example, walking more instead of driving would improve muscle tone, etc.
However, as stronger efforts were made to improve energy use effi-ciencies and substitute wood burning for the conventional heating sources, detrimental health-related side effects started to surface.
Until further study of these detri-
o 6 mental side effects is completed, we must carefully maintain a balance between energy conservation and energy supply.
Undue emphasis on conservation and resource sub'stitution may create additional health / environmental problems and disadvantage consumers economically.
For example:
A.
Excessive use of localized sources such as wood burning can cause health and environmental problems ranging from deaths due to house fires caused by unattended or careless wood burning to a more widespread ravaging of our forests or pollution of the air we breathe.
Controlling such pollution on an individual home basis can be very difficult.
On the other hand, the utility industry can effectively control the pollution from its central generating stations.
B.
Increased insulation levels associated with minimal ventilation resulting in extremely " tight" homes may produce adverse internal pollution problems ranging from the ill effects of " leaking" formaldahyde in
" foam" insulation (use of such insulating material has been banned in Massachusetts) to buildup of carbon monoxide in fossil fuel burning homes or the con-centration of tobacco smoking contaminants.
The Environmental Protection Agency is just begin-ning a comprehensive study of indoor pollutants to
... o 1 bring the health hazards of conservation int'o proper focus.
C.
Use of more efficient light sources in buildings has recently come under scrutiny because of reported health problems when children are exposed to these light sources for long periods of time during the day in school and even in adults in offices.
The health side effects of conservation are not all beneficial.
More and. core data and experience are showing that conservation has health detriments as well as health benefits.
Q.
What can you conclude about the possibility that conser-vation efforts can eliminate the need for Susquehanna?
A.
We expect that future demands on PP&L's system will be significantly reduced as a result of our conservation programs, thus delaying the need to design and construct new facilities beyond Susquehanna.
However, artificial stimulation of marginal conservation and renewable resource applications will result in excessive installation and operating costs, unsatisfactory performance and a negative customer reactidn which could significantly deter the solid progress which might be made in these areas.
The programs being implemented by PP&L can, with the assistance of proper regulation, produce a reduction of about 1040 megawatts in projected loads through 1995.
.J
o.
s
. However, neither these nor any additional conservation programs can eliminate the need for Susquehanna.
Q.
Mr. McNair, does this conclude your testimony?
A.
Yes, it does.
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REFERENCES
- 1. Heat Pump Technology - A Survey of Technical Developments, Market Prospects and Research Needs, May,1978, prepared by Gordian Assoc., Inc. under contract to Department of Energy.
2.
Building Energy Use Data Book, Edition 2, J. C. Blue, et al., Oak Ridge National Laboratory ORNL-5552 December 1979, Chapter 2.
3.
Analysis of Field Test Data on Residential Heating and Cooli,ng, prepared by Battelle, Columbus Labs, for EPRI EA-1649, Dec. 1980.
4.
Heat-Pump Centered Integrated Community Energy Systems,
System Development Summary, J. M. Calm Argonne National Laboratories ANL/CNSV-7 Feb.-1980.
5.
Energy Consumption and Life Cycle Costs of Space Conditioning Systems, 1976, prepared by EUS, Inc. for National Electrical Mfg. Association.
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