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Illinois Touchstone Energy® the co-op brand of energy
As a co-op member you probably know what an electric cooperative is all about, but a lot of people have never heard of electric co-ops. In a deregulated electric market it is critical for electric cooperatives to create an identity, especially with those who have never heard about the advantages of consumer owned utilities. That's why over 530 electric cooperatives across the nation have joined together under the new Touchstone Energy co-brand. The Touchstone Energy® logo will be used in the same way locally owned hardware stores use the True Value® logo or local grocery stores use the IGA® logo. If you haven't already seen the Touchstone Energy® logo, commercials, or ads, you will. This month a special insert in Reader's Digest will explain the electric cooperative difference to over 50 million readers. In February golf fanatics watched the Touchstone Energy® Tucson open on the Golf channel and CNBQ. This month, NASCAR fans can watch the Touchstone Energy 300 NASCAR race on April 4, live on ESPN from Talladega, Alabama. Watch for Touchstone Energy ads on CNN, CNBC, CNNfn and the Weather Channel's Storm Watch program. For more information about Touchstone Energy® visit www.touchstoneenergy.com. McDonald's restaurant installs geothermal heat pump A new McDonald's restaurant in the Detroit area is the first in the chain to use the earth for its heating and cooling needs. A geothermal heat pump system will provide natural, environmentally safe energy at reduced cost. Geothermal technology has gained popularity in recent years because it can economically and efficiently use solar energy naturally stored in the earth to heat water and to heat or cool buildings year-round. Geothermal heat pumps take advantage of the earth's stable temperature to help keep indoor temperatures comfortable. The system circulates water or other liquids through pipes buried horizontally or vertically underground. The technology is also being used in historic sites such as Colonial Williamsburg and the American Band Stand building in Pennsylvania. Geothermal heat pumps are very versatile and more aesthetically pleasing because the pipes are buried underground and the heat exchange units are located inside buildings. They are much quieter and more reliable because they are not exposed to weather conditions. For more information about geothermal heat pumps contact your local electric cooperative or heat pump dealer.
Though news reports have focused on ozone as an air pollutant, this oxygen variant has a good, lesser known side. When generated artificially and applied under controlled conditions, ozone can solve a number of pressing environmental problems from cleaning up drinking water to taming hazardous waste sites. Over the years, ozone research sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPR1) has branched into a variety of areas, exploring ozone's effectiveness as a disinfectant for drinking water, as a bleach and detergent substitute in large-scale laundry facilities, and as a way to treat several kinds of industrial wastes. But perhaps one of the most dramatic benefits of ozone is as a safe sanitizer or disinfectant for foods. This affirmation was delivered to the PDA in April and clears the way for ozone's use in the $430 billion food processing industry. Ozone can be used as a gas to disinfect a room for food storage or added to water to wash food. A current EPRI study is investigating the potential for using ozone to control insect infestation during food storage. This would provide an environmentally benign alternative to fumigants now being phased out. Today more than 200 U.S. drinking water plants use ozonation and the number is expected to climb rapidly. Ozone is far more effective than conventional disinfectants against the microbial contaminants - including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Giardia, and chlorine-resistant Cryptosporidium. Ozone can also be used as an oxidant. It can be used to oxidize hydrogen sulfide, which causes "rotten egg" taste and odor problems sometimes found in local water supplies. 6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING APRIL 1999
Help for mobile home owners As with any other kind of dwelling, mobile homes or more accurately "manufactured homes" can have things go wrong. Several how-to publications are available for manufactured home owners. John Krigger's Your Mobile Home: Energy and Repair Guide for Manufactured Housing provides tips on repair, maintenance, energy and comfort needs. Included are how-tos on making mobile homes more storm resistant, together with a retrofit enabling metal-sided mobile homes to survive 120-mph winds and dramatically improve energy efficiency. Leaky ducts, window shades, air conditioning, landscaping and much more are all covered in this 224-page text. The book costs $19.95. Order by calling (800) 735-0577 or visiting www.residential-energy.com. Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, offers Consumers Union's Tips on Mobile Homes. The 20-page guide offers help on buying a mobile home and resolving problems after purchase. To order, send $2 (check or money order) to Consumers Union, Box EMD, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10703. Kyoto Protocol threat to farm economy A number of independent analysts believe that implementing the Kyoto Protocol would be unduly costly to the United States, and especially hard on farm families. The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations on climate change is a proposed treaty that would require industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by sharply restricting their use of coal, oil and natural gas. U.S. farming is very energy intensive. Fuel and oil costs represent about 30 percent of the total energy bill that farmers pay. The remaining 70 percent is hidden in the prices of other inputs like fertilizer, pesticides and other chemicals. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reports that gasoline, diesel fuel and electricity prices would need to rise by 50 percent or more. For additional information, contact the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF) Center for Policy Research at (202) 293-5811 or visit their web site at www.accf.org.
Electric utility restructuring is high In anticipation of a busy session for the 106th Congress, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met late in 1998 to discuss the priority issues for the committee and the coming years agenda. Topping the list was electricity restructuring legislation. Several states have already enacted legislation. Many are recommending that these states be granted grandfather-clause status in any proposed national deregulation legislation. In addition to electric utility restructuring, the committee will also focus on high-level nuclear waste storage as a key issue. Consumers have been paying for resolution of this issue through their electric bills and the Department of Energy has failed to fulfill its obligation to use these funds and provide a safe, national storage solution. Also, with concern that oil prices are historically low and that recent mergers will cost thousands of jobs, the Senators agreed to begin the year with two oversight hearings on the state of the oil industry.
Go fly a kite — safely
Warm spring weather creates wind gusts perfect for flying a kite. Have fun with your kite but don't throw caution to the wind too. Avoid tangles in utility lines. If your kite does become tangled, please don't try to retrieve it. Call your local electric cooperative instead. "I remember the first accident I helped investigate almost 20 years ago," said John Lowrey, editor of Illinois Country Living. "A young dad tried to knock his son's $2 kite off the 7,200 volt power line in front of their house. He died instantly when the aluminum TV antenna pole he was using came in contact with the power line. I can still remember the gold from his wedding band welded around the hole in the pole." Illinois' electric cooperatives remind you to follow these simple rules when flying a kite: • Find a level, open area away from power lines, trees and other hazards. Fences, ruts, rocks and ditches can cause injuries to kite flyers too. • If your kite becomes tangled in a power line, or a tree near a power line call your local electric cooperative. • Don't fly kites in threatening weather. Remember Benjamin Franklin? He was very lucky. • Don't use kites containing metal or wire parts, or cotton-wrapped or plain wire for kite string. Metal and wire serve as conductors when they come in contact with electrical equipment. • Avoid traffic areas such as streets, highways and railroad rights-of-way. • Warn your children of these dangers before they go out to fly their kite. APRIL 1999 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 7 Energy bill assistance for low-income families continues Congress approved $1.1 billion in Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) funding as part of its omnibus appropriations measure completed in the waning hours of the 1998 session. The measure also contained $5.9 billion for emergency assistance for farmers and ranchers from loss due to severe weather conditions and low crop prices. Congress also approved the Energy Conservation Reauthorization Act of 1998, legislation to extend until 2002 programs of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, the Energy Conservation and Production Act and the Energy Conservation Policy Act. The action will continue conservation and export promotion programs, including weatherization programs for low-income households, state block grants to encourage low-income energy conservation, energy conservation programs in schools and hospitals, and export programs for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Heat pump study eliminates guesswork Years of best estimates and rules of thumb for installing geothermal heat pump loops are getting a stronger grounding from science, thanks to a project backed by electric cooperatives. The on-site system for measuring ground thermal properties takes careful readings of the heat transfer potential from different soils and ground types. This new device makes a physical rather than a theoretical measurement based on the type of soil. Such findings should make it possible to fine-tune the size of a geothermal heat pump loop for maximum efficiency. Restructuring renders little impact on electric prices Despite predictions that electric competition would lead to significant and immediate rate reductions, restructuring of the industry to date has done little to reduce the actual price of electricity, according to a recent report. "The Impact of Electric Competition on the Price of Electricity" is a 34-page report offering insight into the effects of full retail electric competition in California, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Each of these states has experienced minimal rate reductions since enacting restructuring legislation. In Rhode Island, the first state to open its electric market to retail competition Jan. 1, 1998, electric price reductions between 6 and 10 percent were made possible through a restructuring settlement. In Massachusetts, which opened its market to competition March 1, 1998, there was a 10 percent reduction in electric rates because of a legislatively mandated reduction. Likewise, in California, which opened its doors to competition March 31, 1998, residential and small business prices declined by 10 percent because of a legislative mandate. As for large customers in California, the report cites limited evidence of small rate reductions ranging from 1-5 percent. These findings should not be interpreted to mean that competition has failed. The report says the real test of competition will come following the transition period between regulation and competition. As many industry experts have forewarned, lasting competitive benefits will likely take several years to develop, if at all, and will come about through innovation, the more rapid introduction of new technologies, and through expanded service offerings. Y2K preparations While electric cooperatives are on schedule with there plans for Y2K, it is important to be aware of the interconnections the cooperatives have with vendors and other utilities. To address this concern, electric cooperatives have identified suppliers that are critical to their operations and have contacted them regarding their ability to provide products without interruption. Y2K information If you have access to the Internet check out the following Web sites: • The North American Electric Reliability Council will release two more status checks before the end of the year, one in late April and one in July, when its final report to the U.S. Department of Energy is due. These reports will be available on NERC's Web site at www.nerc.com. • The American Red Cross has a Y2K Web site that provides safety tips for being prepared. See www.redcross.org/disaster/safety/y2k.html. • The U.S. government has set up a consumer hotline (1-888-USA-4-Y2K) and a Web site at www.y2k.gov. • The Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) has a Web site just for kids at fema.com/kids/ y2k.html. Report on June's electricity crisis The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a report that examines the Midwest energy crisis this past summer. During this period, prices for electricity soared from an average of $25-$35 per megawatt-hour to as high as $7,500 per megawatt-hour. Price spikes were caused by a lack of generating capacity, hot temperatures, reduced transmission capacity, lack of market information, defaults on power sales contracts and inexperience in dealing with new competitive market conditions. The report does not call for price caps on sellers of electricity who have market-based rates, nor does it call for FERC to set creditworthiness standards for electricity marketers as some have recommended. 8 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING APRIL 1999 |
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