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Posted On: 12/27/2004

Two large energy companies join efficiency campaign

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and MidAmerican Energy Co. have recently expanded their commitment to saving business customers money and energy by becoming sponsors of the national, nonprofit Motor Decisions Matter campaign (MDM).
 
Motor Decisions Matter was launched in 2001 by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency on behalf of other energy efficiency organizations, as well as motor manufacturers and sales/service centers, utilities, trade associations, and government agencies. These stakeholders come together to spread awareness of how business and industry can save significant amounts of energy and money through implementation of electric motor management plans, including best-practice repairs and use of high-efficiency, NEMA Premium(tm) motors.
 
Electric motor energy costs can exceed $1 million annually in large industrial plants. U.S. Department of Energy studies have shown that greater attention to motor system management can reduce motor energy costs by 11 to 18 percent while also boosting productivity, reliability, and profitability.
 
"We're delighted to welcome LADWP and MidAmerican as campaign sponsors," says MDM program manager Ilene Mason. "MDM's ability to successfully promote sound motor management rests in its strong base of sponsors, which MidAmerican and LADWP will further strengthen through their participation."
 
LADWP
 
Serving 1.4 million electric customers and 640,000 water customers, the LADWP is the largest municipal utility in the nation.
 
"LADWP is excited to be part of the MDM campaign," says Gary Gero, LADWP director of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Solutions. "Use of the campaign's resources will be an effective way for LADWP to promote best practices in motor management and to work at transforming the industrial/commercial motor replacement market towards the use of NEMA Premium motors."
 
The LADWP has recently launched a pilot program to provide commercial and industrial customers with incentives for NEMA Premium motors. The full program will take effect in July 2005 if there is a positive response to the pilot. To help ensure the program's success, LADWP plans to use MDM's free, online software tool, the 1-2-3 Approach to Motor Management, along with other marketing outreach, to demonstrate the benefits of motor planning to LA businesses.
 
LADWP already offers a number of commercial and residential energy-efficiency rebate, technical assistance, load monitoring, and financing programs.
 
MidAmerican Energy Company
 
As Iowa's largest utility, MidAmerican Energy Company provides electric service to 689,000 customers and natural gas service to 669,000 customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
 
"Sponsoring Motor Decisions Matter is a great opportunity for MidAmerican to help advance the campaign's message of motor management and efficiency awareness," said Rick Leuthauser, MidAmerican manager of energy efficiency programs. "We look forward to learning from other sponsors' experience and using campaign materials to show our customers the benefits of life-cycle costing, the importance of motor repair/replace policies, and the value of NEMA Premium."
 
MidAmerican offers its Iowa customers a comprehensive set of energy-efficiency programs that allow residential, commercial, and industrial customers to receive financial incentives for purchasing and installing high-efficiency equipment. Commercial and industrial purchases can include NEMA Premium motors and variable-speed drives, which save energy by adjusting a motor's speed to fit its load.