Are You Ready For Deregulation
Of Electricity Generation?
Dennis E. Buffington
Professor of Agricultural
and Biological Engineering
Penn State University
Deregulation of electricity gen
eration means that competition is
being introduced into the genera
tion of electricity. Poultry pro
ducers will soon have the oppor
tunity to select the'company or
broker from whom they purchase
their generated electricity. By
January 1, 1999 one third of all
electricity customers (residential,
commercial, and industrial) will
have the opportunity to select
their electricity suppliers. Two
thirds of all customers will have
this choice by January 1, 2000
and everybody can choose by
January 1, 2001. If any of you
are participating in the pilot pro
gram (about 5 % of all custom
ers), then you already have some
experiences.
One of the first changes you
will experience with the deregula
tion of electricity generation is the
format of your electricity bill.
When you get your bill now,
there is just one charge fflf your
electricity. Oh yes, there may be
several additional charges for fuel
adjustment and taxes. But after
you select your electricity sup
plier, then your utility bill will
include separate line item charges
for generation, transmission, dis
tribution, local service, competi
tive transition charge (also known
as stranded investment charge),
fuel adjustments, and taxes.
You need to do some home
work before you begin shopping
for an electricity supplier. First
and foremost, make sure you
know how many kilowatt hours
of electricitjryou used last month
and for each month of the past
year. If you are on a commercial
rate and pay demand charges, then
VICON ROTARY RAKE
Hydraulically lifted rake rotors
VICON 722
CENTRAL SWATH, IDEAL FOR RAPID FORAGE HARVESTING
In this versatile range of rotary harvesting machines,
rakes the dual rotor rake with central The rotors of the Vicon 632 and
output takes up a leading position. the Vicon 722 can be lifted
With the large working width and the hydraulically for turning at the
compact swath formation, these new headland, driving across swaths or
rotary rakes are geared for the ever putting the machine into transport
increasing capacity of forage position.
100 Stover Drive
Carlisle, PA 17013
717/249-6720
Serving Farmers Through Farm Ei
also record your demand in kilo
watts for the last month and for
each month of the last year.
Please note that it is not sufficient
to just know how much you paid
for electricity during this period.
If you are not sure how to gather
all this information, check with
your local utility company.
There are a number of ques
tions to keep in mind v/hen shop
ping for an electricity supplier.
Of course, you are interested in
knowing the price per kilowatt
hour for the generated electricity
from each supplier you are consid
ering. Be sure to recognize that
you will need to pay charges for
the transmission, distribution, lo
cal service, stranded investment,
and taxes IN ADDITION TO
whatever price you are able to ne
gotiate for the generated electric
ity.
But price isn’t everything.
Make sure you know whether you
will need to pay any demand
charges and what the demand
charge is per kilowatt. Is the de
mand charge based on a 15-
minute, 30-minute, or 60-minute
interval? Is the demand charge
based on your electricity use for
24 hours of each day or are some
nighttime and weekend hours ex
cluded? If you have a high de
mand charge for one month, will
your bills in future months be af
fected by that one high month?
Will any suppliers offer you
on-peak and off-peak rates for the
generated electricity? If so, make
sure you understand clearly just
which hours of which days are on
peak and the hours of off-peak
rates. Do these on-peak and off
peak hours apply for each month
of the year or are the summer
hours different than the winter
hours?
Be wary of anyone offering free
Distributed By:
CUMMINGS and BRICKER, Inc.
WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS
100-120 Lehigh Ave - PO Box 928
Batavia, New York 14021-0928
716/343-5411
gifts or signing bonuses. Make
sure these gifts or bonuses do not
prevent you from making good
business decisions on the basis of
the price you will pay and the
services that will be provided.
Read all the fine print of the
contract that you commit yourself
to for a particular supplier. What
is the penalty (if any) if you want
to cancel the contract? What is
the minimum term of the con
tract? Since there are so many
uncertainties at this time, I am
recommending that contract peri
ods should not exceed 12 months.
It is especially important for
you to know if you are negotiat
ing for interruptible or non
interruptible electricity. If a sup
plier offers you a really cheap rate
for electricity, my guess is that
the rate applies to an interruptible
supply of electricity. If you have
an interruptible supply, then the
supplier can interrupt the electrical
service to your meter so that other
customers may be served. You
may want to consider interruptible
supply if you have a stand-by
generator of sufficient capacity to
provide 100% of the power you
need to operate your poultry farm.
There are many additional ques
tions that you need to consider.
Do you want two bills for elec
tricity each month (one for genera
tion and tine for everything else)
or one combined bill? Will there
be minimum monthly charges or
service charges involved? Will
you need to pay for a special me
ter if one is required? Can your
contract for generated electricity be
renewed automatically or will it
be subject to renegotiation?
Additional information about
the deregulation of electricity gen
eration is readily available from
your local utility company, Penn
State’s Agricultural and Biological
ment Dealers Since 1961
Engineering Department, Penn
sylvania Utility Commis
sion(PUC), trade journals, and the
popular press. Up-to-date infor
mation is available on the Web at
Penn State’s site
(http://www.age.psu.edu/dept/exte
nsion/deregulation) and at PUC’s
site (http://puc.paonline.com)
Poultry producers, just like any
other customers of electricity, arc
interested in lowering their
monthly bills for electricity and
other forms of energy such as
propane and natural gas. The sur
est way to lower your bills is to
use less energy. However, be sure
that you don’t restrict your energy
use to such an extent that you suf-
Shorthorn
WEST FRIENDSHIP, Md.
The 12th annual Eastern Regional
Shorthorn Show is scheduled Fri
day and Saturday, June 19-20,
here at the Howard County Fair
grounds.
Some of top Shorthorn cattle in
the east will be on display as
Shorthorn breeders and enthusi
asts gather for a weekend of com
petition and fellowship.
The show starts on Friday with
Junior Showmanship at 6 p.m. fol
lowed by a junior steer show with
Shorthorn and Shorthorn-cross di
visions. Shorthorn steer calves are
eligible for cash incentives, as part
of the Maryland Shorthorn Steer
Incentive Program, if calves were
purchased from 1997 Maryland
Shorthorn Association members.
Entries for the show are due June
VICON 812 VARIO
The Vicon 812 Vario is a dual
trailed rake with side delivery. In
its trailed version the Vario is also
suitable for lighter tractors.
The machine features a
hydraulic lifting device for
transport or lifting at the
headland
The hydraulic control of the rear
rotor makes it possible to let the
rotors run diagonally to the left or
to the right behind each other to
make one or two swaths.
Rakes up to 43’.
Lancaster Farming. Saturday, May 30, 1991
fer from increased bird mortality
or reduced egg production or other
negative consequences. Your ob
jective needs to be to use the
"right amount" of energy in order
to increase your profitability and
cash flow.
You need to start now to pre
pare for shopping for electricity
suppliers. Those poultry produc
ers who do their homework and do
a good job of selecting electricity
suppliers can probably save 10-
15% in their electricity bills.
Those producers who ignore de
regulation of electricity generation
until the last minute may lose 10-
15% or more. Happy shopping!
Show Set
9, 1998. Entry fee per head is $8
for breeding cattle and $l5 per
head for steers.
Saturday’s events will begin at
7:30 a.m. with registration for a
junior judging contest, which will
start at 8 a.m. Awards will be pre
sented to the top juniors (8-11), in
termediates (11-13), and seniors
(14-19).
The Eastern Regional Short
horn Show is sponsored by the
Maryland Shorthorn Association
and the Maryland Junior Short
horn Association. For more
information, entry blanks or class
sponsorship details, contact Mar
tin Hamilton at (410) 442-2497 or
Rick Hodiak at (410) 875-2874.
VARIO
2x single swathing Multiple swathing
(2 rotors = 1 swath) (depending on capacity)
VARIO
m
t y