Three Penn. Foundries Adopt Energy-Management Technology

Three ferrous foundries in Pennsylvania have adopted the Powerit Solutions L.L.C. energy-management technology to optimize electrical loads for their melting operations.

Powerit Solutions offers “intelligent energy-management solutions” for foundries and other large, energy-consuming businesses. It helps them to reduce electricity consumption using demand-response and demand-control techniques, and to make optimal use of rate advantages associated with managing peak demand. The company says Benton Foundry, Benton, PA; Donsco Inc., Mount Joy, PA; and Urick Foundry, Erie, PA, have peak-demand electricity charges ranging from 25-50% of their total electric bills, but that these charges should be “mitigated” by using automated energy control and load-management tools.

Benton Foundry and Donsco have the same utility provider, PPL Corp., while Urick Foundry is supplied by Penn Electric Co.

Powerit says its system is easy to configure and can be organized so that electricity consumption is reduced without significant impact on a company’s productivity or product quality. It adds that the energy-management savings begin immediately once the system is implemented, and continue to improve as the users refine the settings.

“Typically, customers pay back their investment in less than two years, and sometimes within a few months of installation,” according to Powerit. “On average, the peak-demand cost reduction runs between 10% and 30% of the total electricity bill, saving customers tens of thousands of dollars a year.”

“These plants all decided to implement this technology based on two very good reasons,” explains Powerit Solutions president Bob Zak: “1) to have access to a system that would create value now on the basis of reduced electrical bills, and increase visibility into their plant-floor processes; and 2) to have a tool in place that will be a key component of managing the risk of escalating electrical costs, and taking advantage of future programs offered by power providers as the utility landscape constantly changes.”