Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana has announced that it is prepared to meet summer demand of its electric customers in southwestern Indiana. In addition, the company announced that customers are officially receiving renewable energy from the Benton County wind farm in Indiana, from which Vectren has contracted to purchase 30MW of power.
In a presentation to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Vectren has reported that its total capacity of more than 1,490MW is adequate to meet a projected peak demand of about 1,250MW.
The reserve margin includes 1,430MW of generation capacity and purchasing ability in addition to interruptible load and demand side management initiatives, such as the company’s Summer Cycler program, that could yield more than 60MW if needed.
Electric customers who enroll in the Summer Cycler program can receive a total of $28 or more in bill credits for the summer cooling season. The voluntary energy management program that briefly cycles off select appliances in the home during periods of peak electricity demand, will offer a $5 monthly credit for each electric air conditioning unit or heat pump enrolled in the program and $2 for each electric water heater during June-September 2008.
Carl Chapman, Vectren’s president and COO, said: Our coal-fired units, which produce the majority of our system’s electricity, allow us to be confident that we will meet our customers’ needs this summer. Furthermore, power purchase agreements and demand side management activities will ensure reliability during peak times, and the recent addition of wind power certainly complements our generation portfolio and helps meet a growing customer demand for renewable energy.