The Value of Distributed Generation from the Customer's Perspective: Power Quality and Reliability

Location:  Rayburn House Building, Room 2456
Date:         Wednesday, September 18, 2002
Time:         10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

JOSEPH H. ETO, staff scientist, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is a national expert on power quality and reliability.

ETO PRESENTATION on Power Quality and Reliability Needs for the Customer

Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS): Researches, develops, and disseminates new methods, tools, and technologies to protect and enhance the reliability of the U.S. electric power system.

DENNIS HUGHES, director of property management, First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO), installed four fuel cells at the bank to ensure power quality and reliability after power failures resulted in millions of dollars in lost transactions.

• HUGHES PRESENTATION on FNBO's Switch to Fuel Cells to Ensure Power Quality and Reliability
• Article on the Bank's Decision to Use Fuel Cells over Traditional Sources (Network World, 06/28/99)

Overview of the Briefing

Hear why manufacturers, commercial building owners, and other power customers want to choose distributed power like microturbines, fuel cells, recip engines, wind power, and PV--and find out the policy barriers standing in their way.

Distributed energy (including reciprocating engines, microturbines, fuel cells, wind power, and photovoltaic systems), when combined with advanced IT systems, improve the efficiency, environmental performance and reliability of the Nation's power generation while reducing our vulnerability to terrorism and other disruptions associated with centralized electricity delivery. This industry also represents significant job growth potential in high-tech manufacturing, installation and servicing.

This briefing aims to inform policy-makers and the general public about distributed energy technologies, their economic, environmental and national security benefits, and the regulatory obstacles to their successful commercialization. This and future open exchanges will help direct research, communication and policy efforts.

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This is the 2nd briefing in a special series of Distributed Energy Roundtables hosted by the Northeast-Midwest House and Senate Coalitions this September and October 2002. To learn more about this briefing and others in the series on the new analytical work performed for the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as related case studies, please contact Joe Abe (jabe@nemw.org) (202/544/5200) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

Speaker Bios:
Joseph H. Eto is a staff scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has authored over 140 publications on electricity reliability, energy-efficiency market transformation, utility integrated resource planning, utility DSM program costs, financial incentives, and evaluation methods, and energy-efficiency technologies, including combined heat and power for commercial buildings. He manages the program office for the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions, which is conducting multi-institution public interest research to maintain and enhance the reliability of power systems in restructured electricity markets. Recently, he coordinated technical support to the DOE for the preparation of the National Transmission Grid Study.

Dennis C. Hughes is director of property management at the First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO). In this capacity Mr. Hughes directs the maintenance and operation of all Bank properties, including the power infrastructure selection process for the 200,000-square-foot Technology Center in downtown Omaha built to serve the Bank's expanding data and information processing business. Under his leadership, FNBO installed a $3.4 million 800-kw fuel-cell system to provide very reliable onsite power and affordable space heating and grounds maintenance (melting snow from sidewalks). Mr. Hughes, a licensed Professional Engineer (PE), holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Masters in Engineering Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology. Prior to joining First National Bank in 1997, Mr. Hughes performed many engineering and flying assignments in his 23-year career with the Air Force, including Chief of Operations at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. He was responsible for planning, scheduling, and execution of all facility maintenance and repair with a staff of 350.

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