WaterWorld Magazine has partnered with the Community Environmental Center of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to sponsor the 1998 Energy Efficiency Forum for the Water & Wastewater Industry. The Forum and related exhibition will be held Aug. 30 through Sept. 1 at the Denver Marriott City Center.
The goal of the Energy Efficiency Forum is to bring workable energy management solutions to managers and operations personnel of municipal and industrial systems. Attendees will be exposed to a variety of cutting-edge ideas on how to lower the energy costs related to treating and handling water and wastewater.
Energy expenditures are a major part of every water/wastewater system budget, often representing up to 30 percent of O&M costs. A host of new products and systems are available on the market to help utilities cut their energy costs while maintaining water quality management goals. Topics to be covered include energy efficient pumping systems and equipment and systems designed to trim aeration costs.
Deregulation and competition in the electric power and natural gas industries will transform the way energy is bought and sold in the United States. Sessions will be devoted to papers discussing ways that water/wastewater utilities can take advantage of those changes to buy power at reduced rates. Many industry observers agree that deregulation will open up a whole new world of options for large energy consumers.
The Association of California Water Agencies already has begun taking advantages of changes implemented in California, one of the first states where deregulation has taken affect. The ACWA has formed a Utility Service Agency (ACWA-USA), the first and largest coalition of water agencies to join together for the purpose of purchasing and selling electricity. Under the terms of the one year agreement approved by the ACWA-USA Commission, member utilities could save $5 million or more annually on energy costs, depending on how many members sign on.
The forum will also include reports on the latest research into electro technologies and energy efficient systems by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation, the Water Environment Research Foundation and EPRI.
The forum will begin Sunday, Aug. 30, with the pre-conference workshop "Understanding Pump Systems," sponsored by the Department of Energy Motor Challenge Program. This popular one-day workshop focuses on the performance optimization of pump systems with a special emphasis on fresh water and wastewater facilities. The workshop will be led by Don Casada of Oakridge National Laboratory and Gunnar Hovstadius of ITT/Flygt. They will discuss ways to identify inefficiencies in motor systems that drive centrifugal loads such as pumps.
Full conference registration covers the cost of all conference activities and the exhibition, a copy of the proceedings and admission to the DoE pre-forum workshop. Early Bird registration, before June 1, is $445. Registration after June 1 is $495. Members of EPRI, AWWARF and WERF all receive a $100 discount off the regular registration cost.
To register for the Energy Efficiency Forum, contact Laura Boland at Tel: 918-832-9179, Fax: 918-831-9776 or e-mail [email protected]. For more information, visit the WaterWorld web site at http://www.waterworld.com.
