PG&E grant helps cooler save electricity

Guadalupe Cooling Co., a large, industrial consumer of electricity that cools large quantities of produce from the Central Valley, received $270,000 from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to install an Energy Director Intellekt system to reduce electricity usage during periods of peak demand.

The system is built by Powerit Solutions, based in Seattle, Wash., a leading U.S. provider of intelligent demand control and demand response technologies for industry, said a company spokesman.

“This is a green project that makes sense for both the company and the state of California,” said Danny Vincent, Guadalupe Cooling Co. plant manager.

“The Powerit system does not affect production - that's the key,” he explained. “It allows us to manipulate specific areas of our choosing at specific times.

“We'll use it for demand response, when the state of California has problems and needs our help, but we'll use it every day to cut our electrical costs.”

In addition to Guadalupe Cooling Co., Powerit Solutions customers include Gallo and Paul Masson wineries, Pacific Steel Castings, Frito Lay, Versacold, San Jose Mercury News, California Steel and Patterson Frozen Foods.

Powerit recently was retained by Constellation Wines US to implement an expansive demand response system at two of its wine production facilities in California.

The company has more than 600 installations worldwide.

By reducing the peak demand of industrial customers, such systems preserve the capacity to serve communities of customers during peak usage periods, such as the middle of the day and during seasonal periods, according to the company.

Powerit's intelligent energy demand management system automatically predicts, regulates and lowers peak demand for industries without compromising the operation of connected equipment.

Powerit's Energy Director creates ongoing reductions of 10 percent to 40 percent in peak demand charges, corresponding to a 7 percent to 15 percent reduction in overall electricity savings.

For more information, visit www.poweritsolutions.com.

January 24, 2008