AWWA CSC94006

Power consumed for pumping can be the single, largest cost item facing today's water utilities. In an environment in which there are many factors competing for operating & maintenance monies, it is imperative that opeators use all available technologies within their reach to reduce costs while providing safe, reliable service. This paper traces, from its developmental stage through implementation phase, one utility's endeavor to use emergency standby generators in a computer assisted peak-shaving effort. It attempts to provide practical insight to the decisions involved, the constraints impacting these decision, computer system enhancements required to optimize the process, and future visions for the development of this process into an expert system.