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Energy Management Program Highlights
- MSD has significantly increased the gallons of
wastewater we treat from a growing number of customers and treat it to higher standard,
yet we have stabilized our controllable energy costs by adopting progressive energy
management policies.
- These efforts have so far saved a total of $2.7
million ratepayer dollars! The savings are currently running around $500,000 annually and
are growing every year.
- Project pay-back periods are typically just over
three years.
- Additional benefits include significant
reductions in our contributions to local and global air pollution and improved staff
comfort and productivity.
- These successes were facilitated by participation
in various Energy Star programs, sponsored by the USEPA to promote pollution prevention.
We started with the Green Lights program in 1992, which instructs Partners to begin with a
thorough energy audit.
- MSD hired the Louisville Resource Conservation
Council (LRCC) to do that audit. They immediately found class-of-service billing errors
that reduced MSD’s energy bills by $120,000/year! They have continued to advise us on
energy conservation opportunities.
- At the Main Office, emphasis has been on
lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system upgrades and buying
Energy Star PCs, printers and copy machines.
- At garage and shop facilities, the conversion
from electric-resistance to natural-gas infrared space heating is saving about $20,000
annually, and keeping staff much warmer in winter.
- Outdoor lighting has been upgraded from mercury-
to sodium-vapor fixtures.
- Taking advantage of time-of-day rates, the weekly
West Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant biosolids pumping to Morris Forman Wastewater
Treatment Plant has been shifted to off-peak hours, saving more than $16,000 annually.
- New and replacement motor purchases are evaluated
for energy efficiency, though performance and reliability remain the primary
decision-making factors.
- The Main Office, an EPA’s Energy Star
Showcase Building, uses one-third less water, despite one-third more employees. Less hot
water used means less energy is used.
- Still, MSD does not consistently use less total
energy every year, because we cannot control all relevant factors.
- When the level of the Ohio River exceeds a
certain elevation, Morris Forman Wastewater Treatment Plant must pump its discharge over
the flood wall and into the river. Every day of "flood pumping" costs 30,000 kWh
or $1650. The average year includes 90 such days.
- The intensity of rain events in context with
concurrent soil saturation determines the amount of additional wet-weather flow that MSD
must manage. The very severe storms of May, 1995, March, 1996 and March, 1997 cost
millions of dollars in energy.
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Energy Conservation
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