January 28, 2002

PIXLEY, Calif.,  Jan. 28, 2002- By partnering with Southern California Edison (SCE), K&M Visser Dairy of Pixley, California, saved nearly $20,000 on annual operating costs and earned more than $11,000 in incentives for installing energy-saving adjustable speed drives (ASDs) on vacuum and milk pump motors.  The dairy received help through an SCE- and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)-sponsored program called "Savings By Design." 

"Savings By Design encourages high-performance, nonresidential building designs throughout all of California's business sectors," said Albert Okuma of SCE's new construction services department. "When Visser decided to build a new facility, the Savings By Design program helped to identify energy efficiency strategies to include in the planning and construction of the new site."

In working with Visser, SCE determined that a large number of dairies still use power-hungry water ring vacuum pumps that must always run at full speed. SCE recommended that Visser place ASDs on the vacuum and milk pump system motors at its new 3,900-cow dairy.  By using ASDs, the motors are adjustable and only run as fast as needed, saving electricity and money at the same time.  By adding ASDs, Visser realized an annual energy savings of more than 226,500 kilowatt-hours.

Besides the obvious cost-savings benefit to customers, the program also illustrates SCE's commitment to the environment, energy conservation and cleaner air due to avoided emissions associated with power generation.  Lower energy demand also means less strain on California's electricity generation resources during high-use periods.

SCE's other agricultural and water customers can tap into programs like Savings By Design to save money on operating costs and receive incentives for using energy- efficient equipment.  The CPUC has approved the Savings By Design effort  through 2002 and SCE customers are encouraged to participate in the program before expanding operations.

For more information on SCE's energy efficiency programs for agricultural and water customers, call (800) 634-9175 or visit SCE's Agricultural Technology Center (AGTAC) in Tulare.  Details on AGTAC are available at www.sce.com/agtac

 
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An Edison International company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of more than 11 million people via 4.3 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and southern California.