American Gas - July 2013 - (Page 24)

National Grid’s Collin Cathnott (left) and Cleon-Sean Christie were honored for their bravery in coming to the aid of a woman on the streets of Queens, N.Y. human life during the prior calendar year.” Also winning a meritorious award at the conference was Angelo Fabiano, previously with NYSEARCH/Northeast Gas Association, who received the Milton W. Heath Sr. Memorial Award (sponsored by Heath Consultants) for his work introducing new technologies for use in advanced mobile leak detection systems, activity monitoring, PE joint inspection and evaluation, and more. Kinder Morgan’s Henry W. Poellnitz III and National Grid’s Robert D. Wilson received AGA’s Trailblazer Award in recognition of their work creating and leading a task force focused on developing AGA’s Natural Gas Quality Manual. And Don Kopczynski, vice president of operations at Avista Corp., received the Gild of Ancient Supplers Award for his exceptional leadership and service to AGA and the natural gas industry. eLm sTreeT Making the Switch Co-op saves millions by installing natural gas boilers nEW yOrK—Converting an aging oil-fired boiler system to a natural gas-burning one has saved a New York City housing cooperative $2.8 million in its first year of operation. The East River Housing Corp., which runs the eight-building, 2,700-unit co-op on the Lower East Side, spent $6.5 million to replace one boiler and retrofit two others last April. The annual carbon emissions reduction from the conversion is the equivalent of taking 4,700 cars off the road, East River General Manager Harold Jacob told American Gas. “Today, we have the most efficient boiler room in all of Manhattan,” said Jacob, who oversaw the four-year conversion project. East River paid for the new boiler system primarily with a $6 million bank loan, but also received a $175,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Jacob estimates the project will pay for itself in two years and four months. In February 2012, East River had the largest 24 AmericAn GAs july 2013 of its three brick-set No. 6 fuel oil boilers— which were installed in the 1950s—demolished and replaced with a dual-fuel boiler trucked in from Kansas-based Superior Boilers. The 1,800-horsepower, 60-ton boiler burns natural gas and No. 2 fuel oil, and shoulders about 90 percent of the load for supplying heat and hot water to East River residents. The No. 6 burners on the co-op’s two smaller boilers were replaced with dual-fuel burners. Jacob said they were able to keep service disruptions for residents to a minimum by shifting the load between the three boilers. But there were many complications, he said. First, East River had to negotiate with Consolidated Edison to run a natural gas line to the boiler house. Because they chose the more economical interruptible natural gas service, East River had to remove the old No. 6 oil storage tank and pump system and replace it with an 80,000-gallon tank farm for reserve No. 2 heating oil. Since the installation, there have been three days when gas supply was interrupted and No. 2 fuel was used. Jacob said it took about three months for operators to become proficient in the new computerized system. But fuel costs have been reduced by two-thirds and carbon emissions have been cut by about 30 percent, or 7,000 metric tons a year. As a result, East River no longer has to file monthly environmental reports under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Title V permit program. Jacob estimates that this alone saves the co-op about $100,000 a year. “This took several years of thoughtful, careful planning and consultation with many experts,” said Jacob. “But we’re already seeing that it was very much worth it.” —J.P.T. eLm sTreeT Zero Tolerance for Bites Dog attacks spur utility to require restraints jacKSOn, Mi—After a surge in dog attacks on its employees, Michigan-based Consumers Energy has begun requiring customers to restrain

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - July 2013

American Gas - July 2013
Contents
President’s Message
Subject Index
Shining a Light for Gas Efficiency
Digest
Issues
Issues
Update
Need to Know
By the Numbers
Places
Scratch, Sniff—Evacuate?
Capitol Hill
Cape Canaveral
The Corner Office
AGA Ops Conference
Elm Street
Work in Progress
Profile
For Good Measure
Law
Jobs
Marketplace
Buyer’s Guide
Headway

American Gas - July 2013