Volume 5, Issue 3 - November 2012
The Supplier
WESTERN UNITED UPDATE
Duncan Valley Electric Cooperative located in Arizona has joined WUE as the 55th member. All members enjoy the benefits of competitive pricing, superior service and annual patronage credits.
Patronage checks and certificates totaling over $2.2M (based on member purchases for July 1, 2011 through June 31, 2012) have been mailed to all members. The staff at WUE thanks you for all of your support. Where else can you buy overhead and underground construction material or required tools at competitive prices, out of WUE warehouse stock and shipped weekly by WUE trucks to your warehouse PLUS receive a year end refund on your purchases. ONLY AT WUE!
Ermco, a cooperatively owned manufacturer of transformers has again extended capital credits to WUE for purchases of transformers during calendar year 2011!
WUE was recently recognized by Electrical Wholesaling magazine as the 113th largest electrical distributor in the country as measured by total sales in calendar year 2011. WUE was also recognized as the 3rd best distributor in the country as measured by sales per employee. WUE has been in the top 3 for the last 10 years!
In order to enhance customer service and internal communications. Brad Tooley has been hired as the Director of Sales and Operations for CO, WY, and NE. Purchasing, inside sales and eventually warehouse operations will report to Brad. Brad is a native of Colorado and has moved with his wife and daughter from Oklahoma where he worked for a competitor in the electric utility market place. Please welcome Brad back “HOME”.
The continued high levels of line construction activities and longer lead-times has resulted in WUE increasing stock levels. Currently WUE has increased the inventory level to over $10M.
With the winter season fast approaching, WUE has implemented a new storm stock inventory. The new inventory consisting of automatic splices, insulators, ties, hardware, pins, CU wire, and tie wire has been ordered and will be held in the Brighton warehouse and reserved strictly for storm emergencies. Yet another service provided by WUE!
WUE now offers free pickup of empty steel reels that were used for shipment of Arnco polyduct. Simply call your inside WUE sales rep and they will arrange for pickup of the reels during the next delivery by Western United’s truck driver.
New stock items at WUE include both 4” and 6” “Bore-Guard” piping used for under roadways. Both sizes are stocked in Schedule 40 and in 20 foot lengths.
EUDA members (other coop owned suppliers including General Pacific, Resco, Texas Electric, Arkansas Electric, United Utility Supply, Gresco, TEMA and CEEUS) met in mid October to converse with selected vendors, discuss mutual concerns, and address individual company and group projects
New Products
HD Electric’s new personal voltage detector has been gaining in popularity. The device is worn on the outside of a line worker’s clothing and will detect proximity voltage above 2400V line to ground. A 100 decibel beeper and visual light will signal the presence of voltage. The device utilizes a 9V battery, operates from -20 deg Farenheit to +120 deg Farenheit including in a rainy environment. See your WUE outside sales rep for more information. Unit is available with multiple options.
Conservation Products
Marathon-Rheem water heaters remain the “class of the industry”. Though the color of Marathon heaters has changed to a “Granit Gray”, the lifetime warranty, the high efficiency rating and the quick shipment (available from WUE stock on our weekly customer shipments) are still an integral part of the Marathon brand.
Steffes—Storing today’s electricity for future energy sustainability!
Environmentally friendly Steffes units store electricity, save money, take advantage of off-peak rates and now act as grid-interactive thermal electric storage devices (GETS). Steffes has been manufacturing electric thermal storage (ETS) for the last 25 years, so to help members take advantage of heating their homes with off peak electric rates; electric co-ops throughout the Rocky Mountain region have sold and installed ETS heating units for years. These heaters leverage the electric storage capacity of ceramic bricks to affordably and safely heat homes and business. They use electricity during off-peak hours to heat ceramic bricks with enough heat to heat a house for the entire day, or until the next off-peak timeframe.
This proven heat storage technology, has played a supporting role to our Rocky Mountain co-ops’ off-peak energy programs. Now Steffes has adapted the ETS systems to be a distributed, low cost, renewable integration tool. Grid-interactive renewable space & water heaters have an intelligent controller that communicates with the electric grid using (today) broadband internet. This controller can quickly change their charge rate & charging level, effectively changing the electric space or water heater into “thermal batteries”. It brings a new dimension of conservation and efficiency to the grid.
Additionally, as utilities are looking to harness wind energy the question becomes “What if we could store more of this wind energy at night and use it during the day?” That is where ETS becomes a great solution. Think of a 105 gallon water heater as a 26 kWh battery to store low cost renewable energy that is produced at night. When they are equipped with a special control unit that communicates with the utility’s smart grid, the thermal battery interacts with the grid requirements & becomes dispatchable.
One Colorado co-op, San Isabel Electric Association in Pueblo West is looking to implement this technology. SIEA’s vision is to be able to develop a new renewable, cost effective space & water heater program for its members. SIEA has recently committed to installing several GETS space & water heater controls and will add more as their 8 MW wind farm project develops. For more information on pilot projects employing the new technology, call Barry Gooding (Steffes) at 701-290-2952.
WUE continues to stock a variety of Steffes thermal storage devices.
Convectair: The Soprano, Calypso, Allegro, Apero are all natural electric convection heaters or electric radiant heaters that provide consumers with warmth during the cold winter months. WUE continues to stock these units for quick shipment to member coop’s inventory. Should you need a lobby display to entice your members to purchase an electric heater please call Doug Schmidt at Hamilton Associates 303-463-7549 Doug can provide a full review of the highly efficient units
DOE Updates
The Department of Energy published a list of proposed new transformers efficiency standards in January of 2012. The new standards are anticipated to be finalized in November 2012 and become effective for all new production beginning on January 1 of 2016. The increase in efficiencies will vary for each single phase and three phase size unit but range from a low of 98.7% efficient for a 10 KVA single phase unit (an increase of .1%) to a high of 99.53% efficient for a 2500 KVA three phase unit (also an increase of .1%). The changes in efficiency will still allow for the use of silicone core steel but probably makes amorphous core steel more competitive for certain size units. At today’s material cost, the new standards will increase the price on smaller KVA transformers by 2—5% and larger KVA transformers by 10— 17%.