Safer is Smarter - Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

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12 KIUC CURRENTS By Brad Rockwell KIUC Port Allen Operations Crew Shift Supervisor Ira Fernandez and Power Plant Operator John Adviento maintain the balance. Balancing Supply and Demand Maintaining Balance Ensuring the daily demand of Kaua‘i’s electrical grid is met requires constant attention, and is an exercise in balancing competing requirements. The businesses and people of Kaua‘i require power; the generators that provide that power require maintenance. Ensuring these competing requirements remain in balance is the core mission of KIUC’s Production Department. Most of the time, this process happens quietly and without any impact on KIUC’s members. On rare occasions, however, the balance can be thrown off due to unplanned equipment problems that occur at the same time as planned maintenance outages. When that happens, a call to customers to cut back on their electricity usage is issued to prevent rolling blackouts from being implemented. Demand KIUC’s production staff starts every day with the knowledge that demand will rise steeply beginning around 4 a.m. Generators have to be started to meet this demand, making each morning critical. Once the morning peak demand occurs, around 10 a.m., some breathing room is provided until the evening climb to the day’s peak demand point, which usually occurs between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Once that is achieved, demand drops rapidly and generators are shut down to save fuel, until 4 a.m. the following day, when the process begins again.
Photos by Shelley Paik KIUC’s electrical system has relatively low industrial customer loading. The highest peaks tend to be set by a combination of high tourism and cloudy, light wind days, which cause loss of solar output for water heating and photovoltaic energy, while driving higher air conditioning use. Lately, daily peak demand has been between 65,000 and 72,000 kilowatts (kW) due to mild conditions in both the local climate and economy. A recent day’s demand profile is shown in Figure 1, with kW demand along the vertical yaxis and time of day along the horizontal xaxis. The last two highest alltime peaks were set during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, 2004 and 2007. The December 27, 2007, peak, shown in Figure 2, remains Kaua‘i’s alltime highest peak demand, at 77,750 kW. Theoretically, the entire load that resulted in the alltime high peak is still connected to the system—and perhaps even more has been connected—so KIUC could be required to serve that same demand, or more, once economic conditions improve. We know what causes the highest peak during a given year. If you look at the demand profiles in Figures 2 and 3, you will notice some similarities. When does daily peak occur? Unlike the mainland, which typically experiences its peak demand in the afternoon, Kaua‘i’s peak occurs within an hour after sunset. Think about it: What are you doing at that time? It is getting dark, and most people are heading inside, turning on lights, cooking dinner, bathing and watching TV. All the streetlights come on. The demand solar systems have been handling throughout the day is now placed back on conventional generators, with most of the burden being met by Port Allen. To ensure that burden is met, every day the Port Allen crew attempts to maintain the balance of forecasted demand and required maintenance. Supply KIUC maintains a mix of conventional and hydroelectric generating units that have various pros and cons. Some units are very old, and some are new. Some are more efficient, and some less. Some are large, and some are small. Figure 3 lists each of the units and shows that KIUC has a total net generating capacity of about 117,000 kW, which is enough to power roughly 117,000 homes. Figure 1 – Demand profile from August 19, 2010. OCTOBER 2010 13
Page 1 and 2: October 2010 Safer is Smarter
Page 3 and 4: October 2010 Volume 7, Number 5 Tab
Page 5 and 6: Installation is scheduled with the
Page 7 and 8: I have heard it said that “first
Page 9 and 10: All holiday lights, whether LED or
Page 11: Although a KIUC vehicle may be a co
Page 15 and 16: Old GT2 control cab enclosure. A ma
Page 17 and 18: Director Ben Sullivan gives his rep
Page 19 and 20: Members enjoy chili and rice plates
Page 21 and 22: ONE OUT OF EVERY FOUR AMERICANS BEL
Page 23 and 24: Pharmacy Discount Frequently Asked
Page 25 and 26: TrickorTreating Tips A parent o
Page 27 and 28: 3. Papaya Seed Dressing Ahi 1 bottl
Page 29 and 30: KIUC submitted a revised Short Term
Page 31 and 32: County of Kaua‘i Charter Review C
Page 33 and 34: Avoid tree and utility conflicts to
Page 35 and 36: Trees can be a power line’s worst
Page 37 and 38: TARIFF RULE NO. 16 INTERRUPTION OF
Page 39 and 40: Photo by Shelley Paik Between KIUC
Page 41 and 42: We listened to our members during t
Page 43 and 44: LAST PAYMENT AMOUNT: 75.00 RECEIVED
Page 45 and 46: Request for Patronage Capital Refun
Page 47 and 48: PETERS, LEONARD PHILLIPS, EDWIN PIA
Page 49 and 50: STOCKSDALE, KAMANAWA L STUART, FORR
Page 51 and 52: TAY, PENG HWEE TAYAMEN, PATRICIO TA
Page 53 and 54: MURAYAMA, DENJI MUROFF, MITCHELL MU
Page 55 and 56: Simple Pleasures Kekaha Sunset Phot

Safer is Smarter - Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

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