N.C. Utility Distributes a Lot More Than Electricity

ElectriCities of North Carolina is powering a massive effort to introduce 51 North Carolina communities to well-matched industrial prospects.
        Equally important, this organization is providing services to industries located in these towns and cities that will help them keep their power costs low. In short, this service agency is providing an ongoing incentive to the company that becomes a citizen of one of these 51 communities.
        A non-profit organization, ElectriCities of North Carolina serves the state's cities, towns, and universities that own electric distribution systems. The agency works on behalf of its member communities and their industrial citizens.

ElectriCities' manager for economic development, Brenda Daniels, is heading a project that will provide by the end of 2004 an exhaustive assessment on each community's "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats" as they relate to attracting and retaining industry. Each of the cities and towns will get a marketing plan that will guide them through recruitment and expansion efforts for the county.

Food Lion grocery stores run generators at peak demand periods to lower cost.

        The community profiles and plans are created for Electri-Cities by the Sanford-Holshouser Business Development Group, a company formed from the law firm of two former North Carolina governors (in case you're curious: one a Democrat, the other Republican). With defining data on workforce, economic preparedness, available sites, and demographics, each city will be able to show easily what it can offer an industry -- and will know what industries it can best serve.
        For example, Morganton, a community on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has a large unused water capacity. In a case like this, a good industrial match will be a company that requires high water use. Statesville, where Piedmont plateau begins easing into foothills, is a town criss-crossed by interstate highways – I-40 and I-77 – and only a short ride from I-85. Distribution and transportation centers are a compatible match for this community.
        ElectriCities contracts with the Raleigh, N.C. ad agency, Market Force, to create brochures and other recruitment materials for any of the communities who request this service. Aerial photography is provided, as needed. ElectriCities also assists in making sure that the cities' Web pages are the kind of resource an interested industrial prospect needs.
        When a site selection consultant for an industry wants to look at an area, ElectriCities will help to determine what sites are available and then take the company's representatives on a tour with local developers. The agency works also as a liaison with the state Department of Commerce, in dealing with such matters as financing and environmental considerations.

For the industry located in one of the 51 cities, ElectriCities' hospitality continues. Robbie Tugwell is the agency's manager of marketing; the work of his division serves the companies that have made North Carolina home. "We work with them to keep them competitive in the global economy," he said. One important part of this effort is keeping power costs as low as possible for each company by helping to lower the customer's peak demand (www.energysolutionspartner.com).
        Example: "The Food Lion Corporation is a success story," Tugwell said. The company is installing generators in its stores throughout North Carolina. They're buying these through an ElectriCities partnership with a private vendor, which can offer bulk buying advantages and good financing arrangements. The stores run the generators at highest demand periods in order to lower their peak, thus lowering their cost. In addition, the communities may offer cost incentives for use of the generators. And the stores are equipped to keep the ice cream frozen in the event of an emergency power outage.
        Robeson Community College had a series of energy audits as part of the Energy Solutions Partner program between the City of Lumberton and ElectriCities of NC. These studies showed that the school could achieve significant cost savings annually by controlling its water heaters. Lumberton installed load management switches, remotely controlled to turn off the water heaters during peak use times and switch them back on during non-peak times. The units have enough capacity to continue providing hot water through the peak periods. The City of Lumberton currently credits this community college $9.25 a month for each kW moved off the city's coincidental peak. In addition, a recommended retrofit of the campus lighting reduced demand on the system, saving over 350,000 kWhs per year.
        Lighting audits are among the services ElectriCities is providing companies at little or no charge. "We have tools," Tugwell said, "and options that we can give to these customers to lower their power bills."

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