In the recent heat wave across the east coast of the United States, major metropolitan areas experienced temperatures as high as 102 degrees. Air Conditioning being the major culprit in energy consumption, these extreme temperatures placed an excessive burden on the Electric Grid to supply enough power to meet the demands of all of the customers. If the demand for electricity exceeds supply there is a very likely risk of blackouts, fires and other potentially disruptive outcomes.
On Wednesday July 7, 2010, this demand became too large for the PJM regional transmission organization to maintain stable power supply. The Navy and NuEnergen to the rescue!
Naval Facilities Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic, through NuEnergen, is enrolled in an Emergency Demand Response Program where, when called upon, the Navy Bases in Norfolk can generate and distribute their own electricity and remove some of their burden from the Dominion power grid. The combined efforts of Norfolk Naval Station, Naval Support Activity Norfolk, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, Naval Air Station Oceana, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story and Dam Neck Annex, provide 35 megawatts of their own electricity for use on bases. Enough to power 35,000 households.
On Wednesday morning NuEnergen received notification from PJM that a Emergency Load Event had been declared. Responders were given less than two hours to respond. NuEnergen immediately began executing on established protocols with NAVFAC to begin generation and remove load from the grid. Due in large part to the professionalism of the NAVFAC engineers and technicians, the Naval installations in the Norfolk region were all able to meet this challenging task and remove their loads from the grid in under an hour!
The benefits of this program are multifold. Not only did the actions of NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic help to keep energy supply stable during a difficult time, their efforts save tax payers significantly.
"We get approximately $60,000 in capacity credits this curtailment year for every megawatt enrolled in this reliability power grid program," said Marvin Newton, of NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic’s Utilities and Energy Management. "We may be required by PJM to curtail for up to 10 events per enrollment year (June through May), and if we’re able to meet the demand, it’s worth up to $2 million a year in credits."
NuEnergen provides curtailment and load response services for many institutions like the Navy. For organizations interested in programs like this, NuEnergen performs a site survey to identify Curtailable and Generation capacity then enrolls that capacity with the requisite Regional Transmission Organization. NuEnergen’s staff works with the client to identify needed protocols and insures that all personnel are aware of the processes involved in the event an Emergency is declared. In such an event, NuEnergen serves as the quarterback in notifying all participants of an Event Declaration, insuring actions are being taken and reporting on performance after the conclusion of the event.
NuEnergen recommends participation in these programs for any large organization with sizable generation capacity or sizable load reduction capacity.
