SEASIDE HEIGHTS — Three electric generators, hidden
in tan sheds off Bay Boulevard, have already started paying for
themselves only a little over year after they were installed.
Officials estimate the green and black diesel-powered engines saved the borough $250,000 since they first were switched on in July 2012.
But that was a benefit borough officials expected.
The 2-megawatt electric generators also proved valuable when superstorm Sandy knocked out power across the barrier island. They allowed borough electricians to turn the lights back on for emergency responders in the days after the storm, when natural gas to the island was shut down.
“It actually turned out to be a blessing. It really worked out,” said Mike Rumbolo, an electrician for the utility.
With costs of wholesale energy steadily rising in recent years, Seaside Heights decided to reach for some long-term savings last year when it moved to buy and install the generators for $4.5 million. Just north of the borough, officials in Lavallette, home to another municipally run electric utility, had considered adding generation, but have since decided against the costly project.
Mayor Walter LaCicero said there is no appropriate place to house the noisy, unattractive units and they can no longer anticipate the savings they initially saw. After Sandy, consumption decreased so much that their capacity charges are likely to drop without help from an operating unit, he said.
“It’s completely off the table at this point,” he said.
That borough has been paying $5 million annually for wholesale energy, and the generators helped reduce that cost by $250,000 in this first year, Camera said. He expects to save $500,000 annually when demand returns to pre-Sandy levels.
Anthony Vaz, borough councilman and liaison to the utility, said having the generators allowed the electric utility in January to lower its rates by 2 cents per kilowatt hour to 18 cents per kilowatt hour year round. The rate had previously been 20 cents per kilowatt hour in the summer and 18 cents the rest of the year.
A single-family home uses an average of 250 kilowatts hour per month, and saves about $60 annually with the lower rate, Camera said.
“It’s a benefit to everybody when there are lower utility rates,” Camera said, adding that unlike with property taxes, both tenants, as well as homeowners and businesses, have to pay electric rates.
The savings with the utility may impact rates for its 3,000 customers, but doesn’t change taxes, Camera said. The electric utility does help stabilize the tax rate, however, each year by shifting about $1 million from its budget to the general fund, he said.
The generators will only run five to 10 times a year for about five hours each burning 250 gallons of diesel an hour, Rumbolo said.
After Sandy, they ran the units, alternating each eight hours at a time for a few weeks and powered the police and fire departments, a local church where food was being served and two hotels housing emergency responders, he said.
The borough doesn’t rely on the generators for power all the time; only when demand is high.
On a typical summer day, the borough uses about 10 megawatts of energy. That’s distributed through Jersey Central Power & Light.
But hot days and huge crowds spike summer demand to about 15 megawatts, Camera said. On those days, the electric utility switches on the units so they don’t have to rely on the regional power grid any more than on a 10-megawatt day, he said.
Consistent rather than fluctuating demand costs less in the wholesale market – in this case, $250,000 less in the first year, he said.
Running the generators and getting fuel have a cost, but still don’t cut into the borough’s savings, Camera said. That allows the borough to get its electric customers the power they demand and save them money over time.
http://www.app.com/article/20130831/NJNEWS2001/308310026/
Officials estimate the green and black diesel-powered engines saved the borough $250,000 since they first were switched on in July 2012.
But that was a benefit borough officials expected.
The 2-megawatt electric generators also proved valuable when superstorm Sandy knocked out power across the barrier island. They allowed borough electricians to turn the lights back on for emergency responders in the days after the storm, when natural gas to the island was shut down.
“It actually turned out to be a blessing. It really worked out,” said Mike Rumbolo, an electrician for the utility.
With costs of wholesale energy steadily rising in recent years, Seaside Heights decided to reach for some long-term savings last year when it moved to buy and install the generators for $4.5 million. Just north of the borough, officials in Lavallette, home to another municipally run electric utility, had considered adding generation, but have since decided against the costly project.
Mayor Walter LaCicero said there is no appropriate place to house the noisy, unattractive units and they can no longer anticipate the savings they initially saw. After Sandy, consumption decreased so much that their capacity charges are likely to drop without help from an operating unit, he said.
“It’s completely off the table at this point,” he said.
Immediate savings
For Seaside Heights, the savings have been immediate and are expected to grow, borough administrator John Camera said.That borough has been paying $5 million annually for wholesale energy, and the generators helped reduce that cost by $250,000 in this first year, Camera said. He expects to save $500,000 annually when demand returns to pre-Sandy levels.
Anthony Vaz, borough councilman and liaison to the utility, said having the generators allowed the electric utility in January to lower its rates by 2 cents per kilowatt hour to 18 cents per kilowatt hour year round. The rate had previously been 20 cents per kilowatt hour in the summer and 18 cents the rest of the year.
A single-family home uses an average of 250 kilowatts hour per month, and saves about $60 annually with the lower rate, Camera said.
“It’s a benefit to everybody when there are lower utility rates,” Camera said, adding that unlike with property taxes, both tenants, as well as homeowners and businesses, have to pay electric rates.
The savings with the utility may impact rates for its 3,000 customers, but doesn’t change taxes, Camera said. The electric utility does help stabilize the tax rate, however, each year by shifting about $1 million from its budget to the general fund, he said.
Diesel powered
Diesel-powered units were more readily available and cost less than a natural gas turbine, Camera said. Each unit is stacked with a mechanism that, working like a catalytic converter, limits pollution and is kept within a storage unit to minimize noise, he said.The generators will only run five to 10 times a year for about five hours each burning 250 gallons of diesel an hour, Rumbolo said.
After Sandy, they ran the units, alternating each eight hours at a time for a few weeks and powered the police and fire departments, a local church where food was being served and two hotels housing emergency responders, he said.
The borough doesn’t rely on the generators for power all the time; only when demand is high.
On a typical summer day, the borough uses about 10 megawatts of energy. That’s distributed through Jersey Central Power & Light.
But hot days and huge crowds spike summer demand to about 15 megawatts, Camera said. On those days, the electric utility switches on the units so they don’t have to rely on the regional power grid any more than on a 10-megawatt day, he said.
Consistent rather than fluctuating demand costs less in the wholesale market – in this case, $250,000 less in the first year, he said.
Running the generators and getting fuel have a cost, but still don’t cut into the borough’s savings, Camera said. That allows the borough to get its electric customers the power they demand and save them money over time.
http://www.app.com/article/20130831/NJNEWS2001/308310026/
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