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| Anaheim Public Utilities: A Focused Effort |
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| Written by Ashley McGown | ||
| Friday, 01 January 2010 00:00 | ||
Marcie Edwards, general manager, names Park Substation as one of the most relevant examples of this innovation. A few years back, the team at Anaheim Public Utilities laid out a plan that focused on enhancing the reliability and capacity of its system to meet the needs of both existing and future customers.  Included in this plan was the construction of a new distribution substation, a project that was a direct and significant response to the city’s increasing electricity demands. Using technology called gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), the station was designed to fit inside of a compact structure and was subsequently built into the side of a hill. Unlike most distribution stations, which tend to be large and inherently unaesthetic, Park Substation is located underground and is covered by a neighborhood playground. According to Edwards, this is the first station of its kind in the US to be located underneath a park. “Park Substation was built in the heart of an upscale, residential neighborhood,” Edwards said. “Building the distribution station underground made it much easier to achieve buy-in from the people living and working in that area.” In 2007, in recognition of its work on Park Substation and other forward-thinking projects, the team at Anaheim Public Utilities was granted the American Public Power Association (APPA) E.F. Scattergood System Achievement Award for the third time. Another distribution station, Anaheim Substation, has since been constructed using the same GIS technology, designed to fit inside a building that matches the historic feel of the city’s downtown area where it’s located. Continuous growth Anaheim Public Utilities has served the city of Anaheim for more than a century, but the size and scope of its services have certainly grown throughout the last 100 years. Today, the organization staffs a team of more than 350 full-time employees and generates more than $430 million annual revenue. Roughly $380 million of that revenue comes from its electric unit; the remainder comes from its water operation. “The electric system is vertically integrated and includes resources located in Anaheim and throughout the Western US,” Edwards explained. “When power reaches our system, the voltage is stepped down to 69,000 volts, and then it’s transmitted to our distribution switching stations where the voltage is stepped down once again, to 12,000 volts. Finally, the power is distributed to feeder circuits, which delivers the energy to various neighborhoods.” Although the process is multi-faceted, it’s efficient, and as a result, Anaheim Public Utilities is able to offer its customers rates that rival the lowest in Southern California and across the country. According to Edwards, the utility ranks as one of the highest-rated municipal utilities in the US, in terms of its financial planning, stability, and rates. Unlike many of its privately owned counterparts, Anaheim Public Utilities is a not-for-profit entity, and as such, Edwards said that the organization’s direction is influenced only by decisions made with its customers in mind. Because its team’s focus is to provide reliable service at an economical cost, all excess capital is subsequently reinvested into the organization and ultimately benefits the customers who rely on its services. A new challenge The demand for energy-efficient systems, renewable power sources, and other related sustainability measures has increased significantly in recent years, and California is one state that seems to be leading the charge in many arenas. Anaheim Public Utilities has done much to keep pace with other organizations in the state, but according to Edwards, it hasn’t been easy. She said it has been challenging to meet the increased renewable portfolio standards set forth because the economic downturn has caused a decrease in customer demand, but like most businesses impacted by the recession, the organization has learned how to do more with less. Perhaps most notably, Edwards and her team rolled out a project called Energy Field, one of the utility’s most substantial investments in solar energy to date. A combination of ground-mounted and building-integrated solar panels, incorporated into the design, provide the site with a total solar-generation capability of 132,000 kilowatt-hours annually. Currently, Anaheim Public Utilities is in the process of running a pilot test of the iCeL Energy System at Energy Field. According to Edwards, the iCeL is a smart energy storage system that can capture the excess energy generated from the solar panels on site. The energy can then be stored as is, ready to be released and used whenever it’s needed. In addition to sustainable measures, Anaheim Public Utilities is focused on educating its customers about energy efficient practices. As a result, Anaheim consumers have reduced their energy use by more than 698 million kilowatt-hours—enough to supply 22,600 Anaheim homes for 10 years, Edwards said. “Although it’s been one of our greatest challenges, we’ve been able to make great progress responding to sustainability initiatives and demand for energy efficient resources,” she added. |