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Anaheim, Calif., February 25 – The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) today presented a National Community Service Award to New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) for the co-op’s multi-faceted program to help Cranmore Mountain Resort reduce its energy consumption by applying new, efficient technologies and participating in a demand response program. Implementing this comprehensive program boosted the bottom line of a major commercial member that is a linchpin to economic vitality in the state.
After a thorough review of the member’s energy usage, NHEC provided Cranmore Mountain Resort a rebate of $15,000 toward the purchase of 20 low-energy tower snow guns estimated to be sixty percent more efficient than conventional snowmakers. On top of this rebate, the co-op provided $56,300 for new fan guns through its SmartSTART program (Savings Through Affordable Retrofit Technologies), which allows the co-op to be repaid over time on the member’s electric bill using energy savings.
The cooperative also enabled the resort’s participation in ISO-New England’s demand response program. When the cooperative started the program, it was the only utility participating in the ISO’s demand-response program.
Said NRECA President Jack Wolfe, “NHEC is helping reframe the energy equation: this program shows that everybody profits when we reduce the amount of energy consumed.”
According to NHEC’s key account executive Bill Johnstone, reducing Cranmore’s energy usage required not just one strategy. “We got into the weeds, understanding the member’s business, and identified several different strategies for helping the ski areas to reduce energy costs.”
Under the terms of the demand response program, during high-price/high-demand periods the co-op notifies the resort, which is then able to curtail usage and get paid for energy not consumed. ISO NE pays the cooperative for the energy saved; the cooperative in turn gives that money to the member. NHEC is, not surprisingly, the only utility in New England to pass the money on to the consumer. Says Johnstone: “It took a lot of convincing to get the ski areas to participate in demand response.”
The efficiency efforts will save the resort $2.8 million over their lifetime and 22.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity.
NHEC provides electricity to 116 towns in the state. The cooperative believes in finding unique ways to succeed and thrive by controlling peak demand, which benefits all members. These programs also help maintain the integrity of the grid and prevent a situation in which the utility can’t meet demand.
NHEC worked with other ski resorts to find similar opportunities to reduce consumption. By helping ski resorts, the cooperative is supporting a key industry in an environmentally sound manner.
NHEC received the award at NRECA’s annual meeting. Nearly 9,000 representatives from cooperative electric utilities across the nation are attending the NRECA annual meeting, March 20-22, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, during which they will set NRECA’s legislative and organizational agenda for 2007. In addition to considering and acting upon policy resolutions, delegates receive reports from NRECA officials, hear addresses by key public figures and business experts, and attend panel sessions on major issues affecting electric cooperatives and their consumer owners.
NRECA is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 40 million people in 47 states.
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