Heat is on in power crisis

In the midst of California’s monumental energy crunch, it’s worth noting that Pasadena—and Caltech—have thus far been largely unaffected. Given the Institute’s current power arrangements with the city, together with its strategic planning and conservation efforts, the situation looks like it should remain fairly stable, according to Bill Irwin, Caltech Physical Plant director, and Reza Ohadi, associate director of campus operations.

With its own generators and long-term contracts with out-of-state energy providers, Pasadena meets most of its municipal power needs without having to rely on the troubled state power grid. And under its long-term contract with the city, Caltech receives favorable electric rates and uninterrupted power.

Explains Irwin, “Our costs are mainly tied to natural gas prices, since the city’s generators are gas-powered turbines. So we experience some cost increases if the price of gas rises, but we aren’t really affected by the high prices and volatility we’re hearing about.” In addition, Caltech has its own cogenerator, producing about half of the campus’s electricity needs.

Still, as the energy shortages look to become even more pronounced in the coming months—and as their effects begin to ripple across the nation—no one in California can afford to be careless or to take their current situation for granted. Even a self-sufficient municipal utility like Pasadena’s must occasionally buy power through the state grid when, for example, its cogenerators break down or are taken off line for required maintenance inspections. And with such a critical overall shortage, every bit of conservation helps. Gil Alexander, a Southern California Edison spokesperson, was quoted on a KFWB news broadcast as saying that cutback efforts by consumers saved as much as 2,000 megawatt hours during Stage 3 alerts—or enough to power two million homes.

So despite Caltech’s generally positive outlook, Irwin says, “As good citizens, we want to do our part and conserve as much as we can.” He and Ohadi urge the Caltech community to develop a conservation mind-set, and they offer these guidelines for cutting down on unnecessary power usage in labs and offices whenever possible:

• Turn off lights that aren’t in use or that aren’t essential, such as corridor lights and desk lamps.
• Set computers to “sleep” when not in use, and shut them down at night.
• In wintertime, keep thermostats at 68 degrees, “the recommended temperature,” says Irwin. “In a Stage 3 power alert, we encourage lowering that by two or three degrees.”
• Close doors and windows to keep in heat during the winter. In summertime, closing doors, windows, and blinds will keep cool air from escaping.
• Avoid using space heaters and (in summer) window air-conditioning units. “These use a lot of power and are very inefficient,” Irwin notes.

Ohadi and Irwin are also drafting an energy plan for campus, in the unlikely event that matters take a turn for the worse. This scenario would involve shutting down certain buildings, such as the athletic center, libraries, and some administrative offices, in order to allow essential operations to keep functioning.

With Caltech’s power needs continuing to increase each year, Physical Plant is also looking at ways to manage long-term energy usage and costs. In progress are proposals whose recommendations include retrofitting offices with energy-efficient lights; adding a second cogenerator on campus; and building a thermal energy storage plant, which chills water at night for use in air-conditioning systems during the day.

Ohadi says that UC San Diego, UC Riverside, and the City of Hope are using these types of plants, and that USC is considering one as well. He describes the system’s many advantages: “Producing chilled water at night shifts the load from day to night, as it’s cheaper and uses less electricity to run the chillers during off-peak hours. This shift would help the city and state, as well as Caltech, and the system is nonpolluting as well. That’s the beauty of it.”
•