The Electric Utility Industry

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The Electric Utility Industry

• by Ian M. Torrens and Kurt E. Yeager
• Summary by Sean Perry

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Overview

• Corporate Stewardship
• Environmental practices of EEI
• Importance of measurement and communication
• Criticisms of electricity
• Opportunities for improvement
• Promising electrical technologies
• Ways of preventing pollution

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Corporate Stewardship

• New emphasis on sustainable development
• Public concern over climate changes
• Investor concerns over future liability
• Efforts to improve public image
• Increasing environmental regulations

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Six Imperatives for Environmental Management
(Hedstrom and McLean, 1993)

• Clearly define policy
• Utilize good measurement
• Establish dialogue with stake-holders
• Question business as usual
• Satisfy all stake-holders
• Integrate stewardship into all decisions

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Edison Electric Institute Practices

• Corporate environmental commitment
• Environmental measurement, reporting
• Pollution prevention and waste minimization
• Employee training and responsibility
• Proactive environmental stewardship

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Importance of Communication

• Solid commitment of top managers
• Clear and effective communication to
  middle-management and other employees
• Clearly integrated into all other corporate goals
• Employee training on environmental matters
• Employee input on stewardship practices

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Importance of Measurement

• Set clear goals for waste/emissions
• Allows industry standard
• Environmental Performance Indicators

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Criticisms of Electricity

• Air, water, soil pollution
• Safety and (nuclear) waste disposal
• Health impacts of exposure to EM fields
• Greenhouse gas emissions

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Opportunities for Improvement

• Switching to cleaner primary energy sources
• Improving efficiency of generation, delivery, and
  use
• Reducing pollution through better control of
  byproducts
• Substituting electrical technologies for those
  currently using fossil fuels

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Beneficial Electrification

• Emerging electrotechnologies may prove
  environmentally cleaner than alternatives
• Numerous applications developing over the next
  twenty years
• New business opportunities for sustainable
  development

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Technology Examples

• Industry Infrared Heating, Electric-arc Furnace,
  Ultrasound Textile Dyeing
• Waste/Water Treatment Ozonation, Electron-beam
  Disinfection, Desalination
• Medical Waste Treatment Electropyrolysis,
  Microwave treatment, Plasma processing

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Transportation

• Electric vehicles more efficient
• Greatly reduces noise pollution
• Legislation requires increased production of EVs
  within the next few years
• Ten times cleaner than the most efficient
  gasoline-powered car
• Electric rail transportation also holds great
  promise for public transportation

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Pollution Prevention

• Use of high volume byproducts in construction
  applications
• Recycling antifreeze via re-distillation and
  reconstitution
• Reducing use of cleaning chemicals and/or
  processing the chemicals for reuse in other
  applications
• Using contaminated soil in asphalt
• Recycling used solvents
• Seeking alternative, non-toxic paints and paint
  removal techniques
• Composting bio-fouling waste to reduced volume

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Life-Cycle Cost Management

• Base decisions on the costs associated with
  entire life cycle of materials
• Effective waste accounting methodology
• Using full-cost accounting to price products
  according to their total environmental cost

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Conclusions

• Electricity can help achieve sustainable
  development
• Versatility gives electricity distinct advantages
• Currently emerging technologies will assist the
  growth and cleanliness of the industry
• Responsibility for electricity providers

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The Electric Utility Industry

• A Critique by John Cadwell

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Critical Analysis

• Industries are changing
• What results
• Pies in the sky?
• Intent of Content
• Conclusion

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Motivation for Means

• Philosophy of Stewardship
• Maslows Hierarchy of Basic Human Need
• Kants Uber-corporation
• The Almighty Dollar

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Results of Industrial Evolution

• The Good
• The Bad
• The Ugly

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Dreaming Out Loud

• Sometimes deserves laughing out loud
• The end of the rope?
• Nobody ever refers to the Ordinary Genius

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What did they say?

• Optimism never hurt anybody
• Put your money where your mouth is
• If you shoot from the hip, sometimes you shoot
  your foot

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Concluding Remarks

• Idealistic
• Provides Direction and Inspiration
• Update for the Times
• Stay Focused

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Questions?