Small changes awarded for netting big energy savings
Because conservation efforts benefit the environment and customer savings, CenterPoint Energy makes it a point each year to recognize outstanding efforts.
The three recipients of the 2016 Conservation Improvement Program Energy Efficiency achievement awards were announced recently at the 2017 Energy Efficiency and Technology Conference.
General Mills Inc. earned recognition as the 2016 Conservation Improvement Program Customer of the Year for its demonstrated long-term commitment to energy conservation. The company completed two major improvement program projects in 2016. The first was installing custom-fit insulation jackets for 800 different steam fittings, saving 9,344 dekatherms of natural gas per year. The second project used CenterPoint Energy’s Process Steam Trap Audit program to test 472 traps at General Mills’ James Ford Bell Test Lab. The audit showed that 18 of the traps had failed. Replacements saved the company 4,436 dth per year, according to a CenterPoint news release.
The 2016 Trade Ally of the Year award went to State Supply, which played an important role in facilitating and expediting natural gas rebates for its customers. The company’s focus on steam trap projects enabled CenterPoint Energy to set new savings records for prescriptive rebates and steam trap repair/replacement rebates, according to the release. State Supply’s commitment to its customers, and to CenterPoint Energy’s Conservation Improvement Program, resulted in more than 157,557 dth of savings.
Utepils Brewing, a new craft brewery on the west side of Minneapolis, was awarded the Most Innovative Project of the Year. In 2016, the company installed state-of-the-art German brewery technology involving heat recovery and vacuum depressurization, which helped decrease the energy consumption of the brewing process by 70 percent, according to CenterPoint.
“Taking steps toward becoming energy efficient is good for consumers’ wallets and the environment,” said Brad Tutunjian, vice president of Gas Operations for CenterPoint Energy in Minnesota.
He thanked all those who participated in its CIP programs in 2016 and helped achieve record natural gas savings of just over 2 billion cubic feet. “The savings during 2016 were the equivalent to the annual natural gas usage of 22,200 residential homes, and the emissions savings were the equivalent to removing 17,800 cars from the road for one year,” he said.