Currents: The Business of Energy | 2009

urrents Central Penn Business Journal’s

Fall

2009

THE

BUSINESS

OF

E N E R G Y /////////////////////

What Does Our

Energy Future Look Like

A s upple me nt to t he Cent ral Penn Business Journal

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Fall

2009

THE

Publisher / David A. Schankweiler President / Larry Kluger Business Manager / Donna Schankweiler Associate Publisher / Zander Gambill

NEWS Editor / Christopher K. Passante Managing Editor / Andréa Maria Cecil Managing Editor, Design / Kathryn Morton Staff Writers David Dagan (online reporter, banking and finance), Jessica Bair (retail, tourism, small business, York and Lebanon counties), Eric Veronikis (state government, real estate, energy, Dauphin County), Jim T. Ryan (logistics, manufacturing, workforce, transportation, Cumberland County), Paula Holzman (Lancaster County, health care, nonprofits) Copy Editor / Jim Brown Researcher / Alaine Keisling Photographer / Amy Spangler

DESIGN Operations Director / Chad Pickard Graphic Designer / Andrew Link Contributing Designers / Amy Goropoulos, Ann Marie Reynolds, Emily Graf, Sarah Van Zee

ADVERTISING Sales Manager / Nate Tile Account Executive / Angela Miller

www.centralpennbusiness.com

OF

ENERGY

Marcellus shale, clean coal, nuclear, wind and solar power.

Pennsylvania’s energy future has plenty of options. And, as in the case with the shale formation beneath our state, we stand to gain financially from some of these energy options.

The business of energy certainly hasn’t become any less complicated.

Throw in the looming end of electricity-rate caps and the process of determining whether taking green steps actually will improve your business’s bottom line, and it can be mind boggling.

In this fall 2009 issue of Currents, we delve into all these issues, tell you what to expect and how to deal with it.

This is your energy road map. Enjoy.

contents 2

Nature's energy

Andréa Maria Cecil Managing editor

4

In the green

6

8

Attracting force

10

Ready. Set. Spike.

Atomic option

14

Pollution's expense

16

CIRCULATION Circulation Director / Criss Kerkendall Circulation Marketing Coordinator / Megan Zengerle Circulation Coordinators / Raquel Campbell, Valerie Wormley

BUSINESS

18

The old is new

20

Hot new trend

Power play

22

10 energy fixes for the office

The lists: 28 Fuel companies 29 LEED-accredited professionals 30 Electricity-distribution companies 31 Gas-distribution companies 32 Electrical, plumbing and HVAC distributors currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 1

Nature's energy

State expects shale formation to be revenue wellspring.

By Eric Veronikis

T

Photo/Submitted: Pennsylvania is home to large natural-gas potential called the Marcellus shale. This drilling rig is in Washington County.

Infrastructure needed for Marcellus shale profit By David W. Patti

O P I N I O N

pipe, drilling rigs, turbine blades and millions of gallons of water. ComThe Marcellus shale try that could abound. ing back from the sites beneath Pennsylvania There are two consider- is dirty water and other is an untapped source ations: infrastructure to waste that must be safeof natural gas. It can be build wells and turbines, ly disposed. a boon to energy indeand get the energy to To help with the haul, pendence and economic market; and infrastrucsome old short-line rail development. Like any ture to make the most systems have been reacburied treasure, we need of natural resources by tivated. But rail service to access it and get it to creating greater wealth is inadequate for the enmarket. This requires inthrough manufactured tire logistical need or for frastructure. goods and the services long-term renewed manRoads, bridges, pipethat follow manufacturufacturing growth. We lines, water systems, sew- ing jobs. also need air transport age treatment, railroads, Roads north have been capacity. broadband and airports stressed by big rigs haulAlong the ridgelines must support the indusing heavy payloads of where gas and wind com-

2 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

here is enough natural gas within the Marcellus shale rock formation that runs through Pennsylvania to supply the U.S. with its natural gas needs for the next 20 years, said Terry Engelder, geosciences professor at Penn State University.

Engelder has studied fractures in gas shales for more than 30 years. Pennsylvania has the most Marcellus shale, but it also runs through Maryland, New York, Ohio and West Virginia, he said. The shale is beneath about 60 percent of the commonwealth, he said. There are about 489 trillion cubic feet of retrievable natural gas in the total formation, Engelder said.

Gas-drilling companies are starting to line up to tap the resource. And Pennsylvania is trying to figure out how it wants to benefit from its extraction in

panies operate, there are few roads. Energy companies are building access roads, being mindful of storm water runoff and environmental impact.

There already are some gas lines in the areas, but they aren’t in all of the areas where “gathering” lines will be needed.

When larger quantities of gas are being pumped, we’ll have to enlarge lines. Periodic pumping stations will increase line pressure. The direction of the transmission also might change,

the wake of a $3.2 billion budget shortfall.

Gov. Ed Rendell had proposed requiring drillers to pay a 5 percent severance tax on the value of severed natural gas at the wellhead, Rendell’s press secretary Gary Tuma wrote in an e-mail. A severance tax is a levy on the extraction of nonrenewable natural resources. Rendell also proposed drillers pay 0.047 cents per thousand cubic feet of gas severed, Tuma said.

Rendell gave up his bid to tax Marcellus Shale extraction during the current fiscal year because the budget fight has lasted so long and the state can’t get as much as it hoped, Tuma said. Rendell had expected the state to get $107 million from the tax during the 2009-10 fiscal year, he said. The governor wants to reintroduce the

meaning infrastructure cluding pipelines and alterations. Historically, pumping stations. gas flowed from the Gulf The state has sigof Mexico to the North nificant electrical genEast. With expanded eration capacity; its production here, there transmission capacity is might be westward and woefully lacking. For it southeastward flow. to take full advantage of North East customwind energy and expand ers will want more gas clean coal and nuclear stored in Pennsylvageneration, it must have nia when low temperatransmission capacity. tures might drive them Pennsylvania could to use gas faster than be a net exporter, but it it can be replaced. Decan’t transmit power by pleted production areas truck or rail. We need can be used for storage, transmission lines and a but there will be related “smart grid.” infrastructure needs, incontinued on page 23

Central Penn Business Journal

The U.S. oil reserve equals 21 billion barrels.

There is about 6,000 cubic feet of natural gas in a barrel of oil. That means there is enough retrievable natural gas in the Marcellus shale formation to equal 81.5 billion barrels of oil. The formation is beneath about 60 percent of Pennsylvania and extends into Maryland, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.

If someone were to draw a line on a state map from the northeast corner of the commonwealth to the southwest corner, the Marcellus shale formation primarily exists in parts of the state that are above that diagonal line, said Teresa Candori, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Sources: Terry Engelder, professor of geosciences, Penn State University; Teresa Candori, press secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

measure next year, Tuma said.

In a preliminary budget pact, the state would lease game lands to drillers, but not tax them for drilling on state or private property. Under Rendell’s proposal, drillers would get taxed on gas they drill for on private and public properties.

There are about 96 companies in the country with active permits to drill for gas in the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Permits last a year.

Since 2005, 2,000 drillers applied for permits. The state issued 1,537 permits from 2005 through June, said Teresa Candori, DEP press secretary, in an e-mail. She said she did not know how many permits DEP issued in 2003 or in 2004, but that number was minimal.

DEP is concerned about where water used to drill the shale comes from and how waste water used during the process is treated, Candori said.

Companies use large volumes of water forced underground at very high pressure to crack the rock apart to free the gas. Treatment plants have to comply with state mandates relating to the discharge of treated waste water from drilling, she said.

DEP will not accept applications from drillers until the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and other similar groups approve their water treatment continued on page 23

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currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 3

In the green

Does being environmentally friendly make financial sense?

By Paula Holzman

A

s a word and as a concept, “green” is becoming ubiquitous.

There are green laundry detergents, green roofs, green pet food and even green ski products.

Maybe your business is looking to jump on the green bandwagon or to polish its environmentally friendly credentials.

But is going green financially worth it?

The answer is that every business must make that decision based on its needs, resources, mission and facilities, midstate experts said.

“It’s certainly a tightrope walk,” said Mary Renner, president of Lancaster County-based Laser Plus.

Green isn’t monolithic. The label can encompass everything from low-flow toilets to a fleet of hybrid cars. Some things, like the abovementioned toilets or nontoxic paint, are becoming more common as building codes evolve.

There are a range of green certifications — from the oft-cited Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which itself has several levels, to the one offered by the National Association of Home Builders.

4 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

Central Penn Business Journal

And each environmentally friendly modification likely presents options at different price points, such as the decision to use a white roof (which lowers energy costs because of its reflective property) rather than a more expensive vegetated (green) roof, which also helps control runoff and air pollution.

All of this can be dizzying.

But taking some steps toward becoming more energy efficient is within reach of most businesses and can save both the environment and the electric bill, said Marita Skacel, professional development manager for the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

To help area businesses on the path to green, the chamber recently began offering two certification programs: Green Seal, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental standards program; and Green Plus, in partnership with the North Carolina-based

Institute for Sustainable Development.

Firms trying to go green can start with small changes, such as using energy-efficient light bulbs, and

“Renewable energy may make sense for

one person,

An energy audit to determine weaknesses is another simple step, she said, as is reducing paper usage by printing on both sides, using recycled paper and buying products with less packaging.

On the next level are actions that will probably cost more up front but will provide energy savings in the future, she said. This second tier includes replacing machines with more energyefficient versions and retrofitting heating and ventilation systems, Skacel said.

Beyond that are large-scale changes that may not be practical for every business and are significantly more expensive to install than their conventional cousins, such as vegetated roofs, solar-panel arrays and geothermal heating and cooling systems.

“We want to be reasonable with resources. Sometimes you have to look at

but it may not for another if it’s going to

bankrupt their businesses.”

—Marita Skacel, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry

encouraging employees to carpool when practical and to turn out the lights and switch off computers before leaving, Skacel said.

continued on page 24

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currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 5

Attracting force

Looking for diversity in green incentives.

By Eric Veronikis

P

ennsylvania should diversify

energy incentives it offers companies if it wants to attract commerce, some area business owners said.

The commonwealth typically gives more incentive money to companies that produce equipment to save energy or generate alternative energy, such as solar or wind power.

But more incentives need to go to

6 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

end users of those products, business owners said. Programs that benefit end users mostly help companies that install energy-efficient lighting, said Rich Wurzbach, president of York Laboratories. The company helps businesses reduce energy consumption.

“Certainly there is money to be saved with (lighting), but what’s next?

We would like to see more focus in

terms of technology support,” Wurzbach said.

The commonwealth has the third highest number of clean-energy jobs in the U.S., according to a report released in June by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Pew is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focused on improving public policy, informing the public and stimulating civic life, according to its

Central Penn Business Journal

Web site. Pew’s report concludes that a clean-energy economy stimulates job growth.

The most recent numbers in the report are from 2007, however.

And the state’s average clean-job annual growth-rate from 1998 to 2007 was negative 0.48 percent, according to the report titled “The Clean Energy Economy.”

There are other incentives out there besides lighting, but companies like York Laboratories have had to seek them out. York Laboratories has done a good job finding state money, Wurzbach said.

The company has received funding through the state’s Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) program for its Grease Thief invention. The program provides businesses with ongoing funding for product development, training, marketing and patent applications.

The Grease Thief helps companies

monitor the condition of lubricants in electric motors that run high-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, Wurzbach said.

“Certainly there is

heating and cooling losses businesses, and it conducts other tests to help manufacturers keep machinery running efficiently.

Wurzbach said he didn’t know how much York Laboratories has received through the KIZ to date.

But the company recently sold a $90,000 tax credit it received through the program, he said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) runs three energy efficiency programs and the Commonwealth Finance Authority operate several, said Dan Griffiths, DEP deputy secretary for energy and technology deployment.

Businesses that install solar hot water or photovoltaic (solar) systems can get up to a 30 percent discount for smaller systems from the state, and about 20 percent for installing bigger systems, Griffiths said.

There is a federal tax credit that also

money to be saved with (lighting),

but what’s next?

We would like to see

more focus in terms of

technology support.”

—Rich Wurzbach, York Laboratories

The better the condition of lubricants, the less energy the motors use, he said.

The company also does thermal imaging scans of facilities to pinpoint

continued on page 25

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currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 7

Atomic option

Nuclear power a hefty chunk of state’s energy future.

By Jim T. Ryan

N

Photo/Amy Spangler: Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County. The plant is operated by Chicago-based Exelon Corp.

8 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

uclear energy is about a third of Pennsylvania’s power supply. That share would grow if more nuclear-fired electricity plants are cleared for upgrades and construction, but the companies that operate the state’s five nuclear plants are not in a wholesale rush to expand just yet.

Only one new facility in the state is planned at this time, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, a national trade group for the nuclear-power industry. There are 21 new atomic plants planned throughout the country, according to the institute.

Allentown-based PPL Corp.’s proposed Bell Bend plant, which would be near its existing Susquehanna station in Luzerne County, could have regulator approvals by 2012, said Joe Scopelliti, a company spokesman. The new facility will produce 1,600 megawatts of electricity, or 33 percent more than what one of PPL’s reactors now produce at Susquehanna, he said.

A 1,600-megawatt power plant is capable of powering about 1.3 million homes, Scopelliti said.

PPL also is upgrading its existing reactors to produce about 100 more megawatts each, he said. The first reactor will be completed in 2010 and the second in 2011, he said.

Central Penn Business Journal

Such upgrades will ultimately change the face of power generation in the state, giving nuclear a larger share. But the exact amount of that share is yet to be determined.

“The mix also depends on what’s left in the state,” Scopelliti said. “It’s hard to say what will happen with coal, oil, wind and solar in the future. We don’t know what that mix will look like.”

Nuclear power is not Pennsylvania’s largest energy source.

Coal represents more than half of state’s energy use.

Nuclear’s future in Pennsylvania will rely heavily on those upgrades, said Karen Walsh, executive director of the

controls for safer operation and efficiency • turbine retrofits for efficient power production • replacing copper components in generators to produce more electricity • replacing valves and pumps with larger versions for increased power production.

Peach Bottom is undergoing a replacement of parts in its turbines, she said.

Larger upgrades — such as replacing pumps, valves and generators — allow existing plants to extend their life and produce more power efficiently, Archer said. That reduces the cost to consumers and businesses when they buy electric-

Purchasing power.

“Having nuclear

as part of the mix moderates the price

of electricity

that everyone pays.”

—Karen Walsh, Energy Alliance

Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Energy Alliance, an advocate for atomic energy.

“The nuclear plants have the ability to increase their capacity by 20 percent on their existing footprints,” she said.

Illinois-based Exelon Corp. owns three nuclear reactors in Pennsylvania, including Peach Bottom in York County and Three Mile Island in Dauphin County. Exelon is planning to upgrade most of its facilities in coming years, spokeswoman Beth Archer said.

The upgrades include: • more accurate meters and

www.centralpennbusiness.com

ity, she said.

“Having nuclear as part of the mix moderates the price of electricity that everyone pays,” Walsh said.

The alliance is supportive of other alternative energy sources, she said. But nuclear has attributes other sources don’t. It’s reliable, doesn’t fluctuate wildly with weather conditions like solar and wind power, and generates a lot of electricity without air pollution, Walsh said.

That’s why the nuclear industry is lobbying to get large, capacity-increasing upgrades continued on page 25

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currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 9

Ready.

Set. Spike.

By David Dagan

A new era of power prices soon will begin in Central Pennsylvania, and businesses are getting ready “They know it’s coming … and there is concern, obviously,” said Larry Bowman, president and chief executive officer of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce. “Everybody’s watching the bottom line, especially now (given) the economic challenges facing us all.”

The rate caps that put a ceiling on power prices for customers of PPL Electric Utilities Corp. will expire at the end of 2009. The other utility that serves the midstate, Metropolitan Edison Co., will see its rate caps come off one year later.

The good news is that prices are no longer expected to jump as much as was once feared. The recession has brought down energy costs.

As of June 30, the market price of power for a typical commercial customer was about 21 percent higher than the capped price, according to the state Public Utility Commission. That’s a big jump, but it looks good compared to the 85 percent difference the PUC found a year earlier. continued on page 12

currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 11

Shop around The idea behind electricity deregulation was to create a competitive market for power. Utilities would simply deliver the power you bought from someone else. But during the transition period, utilities had to sell you power at a capped price that it turned out no competing supplier could match.

Now competitors are coming out of the shadows.

“There is growing action, particularly in the PPL territory,” said David Kleppinger, an attorney at McNees Wallace & Nurick in Harrisburg who represents large power users.

Customers who do not go with a competitive supplier will be put on

Falling electricity prices, PUC move to help businesses

O P I N I O N

There have been a lot of conversations and prognostications about what will happen when electric rate caps come off in the PPL region at the end of the year.

Two recent developments present good news to local businesses that may be considering the benefits of competition.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal about electricity prices found they are falling dramatically across the nation only a year after high energy costs were hurting consumers and businesses. While the article acknowledged reductions won’t lower bills for all, they will have an overall “softening effect over time.”

Also, without fanfare or much attention, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) on Aug. 6 issued an order that will open Central Pennsylvania to a new era of electric competition that most assuredly will soften the impact the rate caps’ expiration will have on area businesses.

Key provisions in the order include mechanisms to ensure that essential usage data and other information are standardized and upto-date. The order also requires energy providers to offer educational programs to customers to help them better understand how restructured markets function and what new energy options will be made possible by competition.

By simply opening the door to data sharing, the PUC took a major step in opening the door to competition. Electric suppliers now can give their customers a more accurate picture of what their rates will look like and how they can adjust their usage to save the most money.

So what does this mean for Central Pennsylvania? The PUC action, coupled with the efforts of PPL to promote customer choice and retail competition, means business owners can make the same kind of informed decisions on energy purchases that they make with all their

12 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

By David I. Fein

materials, supplies and vendor services.

Historically, PPL has controlled the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The transmission and distribution process won’t change. With the transition to a competitive market that will include new suppliers, businesses can choose who supplies the energy commodity and, in doing so, force energy companies to lower their prices to compete. The PUC also will ensure that regardless of your choice in electric supplier, businesses will receive the same level of reliability of electric service.

The positive effect that electric competition will have should not be overlooked by job creators or the people they employ. Struggling local, state and national economies haven’t been kind to anyone.

Business owners have been forced to make difficult choices just to stay in business. Cuts in employee salary and benefits, drastic reductions in professional services,

so-called default service. They will continue buying power from PPL. The utility bought much of its power for 2010 default service when energy prices were higher. That means it’s worth your while to shop: Competing suppliers can likely offer lower prices based on conditions in the markets now, said William Lloyd Jr., the state’s small-business advocate before the Public Utility Commission.

“Right now it’s a great opportunity, because the energy markets have really crashed over the last year,” said John Zbihley, president of OnDemand Energy Solutions in Allegheny County.

But with more options come more decisions. Just as in the natural-gas

and layoffs have become an almost daily occurrence.

Energy needs have played a big role in the problem, but evidence has shown that electric competition can help businesses keep their doors open and even prosper.

In 2006, The Perryman Group, an economic research and analysis firm, studied the impact of cost savings from retail electric competition on business activity in Texas. The study found an annual stimulus to the state’s economy of $9.7 billion in total expenditures, $4.6 billion in gross product and almost 47,800 permanent jobs.

According to the procompetition group Compete Coalition, competition in Massachusetts saved customers $1.1 billion from 1998 through the end of 2004. As an aside, competition also has opened the door for traditional energy providers to embrace renewable energy products such as wind energy. Over the past decade, there has been nearly three times as much wind energy produced in regional competitive markets than in closed markets.

In Pennsylvania, businesses will enjoy an additional benefit of not having to pay

a penny for switching to a different electric supplier when the PPL market opens to competition on Jan. 1. Further, physical modifications to power facilities are not required because electricity will continue to be delivered through the transmission and distribution systems already in place.

While competition doesn’t officially begin until Jan. 1, businesses should start doing their research now by evaluating potential suppliers. That will enable them to secure energy quotes from suppliers at their current rates – at their lowest in years – for use in January.

Central Pennsylvania’s ability to persevere has kept the region’s economy moving forward in even the worst of times. The PUC, through electric competition, is helping to give area businesses and their employees a better chance at righting the course and flourishing once more.

David I. Fein is the vice president of energy policy in the Midwest and Pennsylvania and director of retail energy policy for Constellation Energy.

Central Penn Business Journal

industry, you will be able to choose between variable and fixed prices, for example. So how do you decide which to use?

“The same way that you decide to buy anything else,” Lloyd said. “You make an educated guess.”

A good place to start shopping is with your local chamber of commerce. Midstate chambers have created partnerships with competitive suppliers to offer members better rates. (see sidebar) If worst comes to worst, PPL offers customers a way to put off some of the pain. You can defer the portion of price hikes above a 25 percent increase, but be prepared to pony up the money you owe, plus interest, within one or two years. You can use this option even if you buy your power from a competing supplier.

that finances energy retrofits.

The state and federal governments have various tax incentives, loans and grants to encourage retrofits. The rest of the cost often can be financed. There are several ways of doing this, but the basic idea is always that you can pay a lender back using money that otherwise would have gone to your electric bill. For example, a company that saves $20,000 worth of power annually through a retrofit may only get to keep $3,000 – $4,000 of the savings in the first year, said energy consultant Frank Richards.

“But they wouldn’t have to put a penny out,” he said.

Richards is president of Lancaster County based Richards Energy Group Inc., which provides energy audits and purchasing services.

Scrub out waste

Beat traffic

One of the best ways to lower your Spikes in demand drive up the price bill is to decrease power usage. Some- of electricity, so you can save money times, this can be easy — just look for by shifting your power usage to offobvious areas of waste. peak hours.

Judy Zimmerman Walter is an ownOne option PPL offers is so-called er of Ultimate Car Wash and Lube, a “time of use” pricing, a plan where the 24-hour car wash in Dauphin County. price of electricity varies depending on For customers to feel comfortable using the time of day. The plan is available the facility late at night, it needs to be only to residential customers, but PPL well-lit. But Walter found that the busi- has asked regulators for permission to ness was overdoing the brightness. She offer it to businesses. was able to unscrew half the bulbs from Large users can get into a more the car wash, shaving her power bill. sophisticated program called “demand It’s a small gesture, but it may lead response,” managed with PJM Interto bigger things. Walter said she might connection, the agency that runs the consider installing solar panels. power grid. Again, the idea is to reduce Some energy-saving moves are ob- demand during peak periods. In one vious, but others are more complicated. model, you can agree to get off the grid You could be losing power in places immediately when PJM requires you you do not even realize. Electricity to do it. PJM gives you regular paybills also depend on more than just ments for being on standby and pays the number of kilowatt-hours you are you the price of power during the time using. For example, running machines you are off the grid, said spokesman in a staggered way instead of all at the Ray Dotter. In another model, you can same time can save you money. volunteer to jump off the grid when the That’s why it helps to bring in a pro- hourly price hits a certain level and be fessional energy auditor. paid that price for the time you are But depending on the auditor’s affil- shut down. iations, you might want to take the adYou can sign up for these programs vice with a grain of salt. Many compa- by working with a “curtailment sernies that sell energy-related products vice provider,” a private company that also perform audits, so the reviewer’s manages the details. For a list, visit vested interest might differ from yours, www.pjm.com. Search for “curtailment said John Costlow, director of techni- service providers” and click on the first cal services at the Lehigh Valley-based result.

Sustainable Energy Fund, a nonprofit www.centralpennbusiness.com

Power pooling takes off; higher rates loom Businesses are banding together in pools to get better deals on electricity rates.

“Pooling is just like … bulk buying,” said John Zbihley, president of OnDemand Energy Solutions in Allegheny County.

The company is working with some local chambers of commerce to set up electricity pools, and the idea is catching on with businesses. Across the PPL Corp. service territory, where rate caps will expire Dec. 31, some 1,200 businesses have applied to join OnDemand pools, Zbihley said.

The Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce and West Shore Chamber of Commerce both are working with OnDemand.

The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and Capital Region Economic Development Corp. have teamed up with Baltimore-based Constellation NewEnergy, said Lancaster chamber President Tom Baldrige. Though it’s not a pool, Constellation is offering chamber members discounts through the partnership, he said.

Gary Scicchitano jumped on the opportunity to join a pool when he heard about it. Scicchitano, vice president of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Pennsylvania, said he still expects rates to go up for his nonprofit, which provides home health care services.

“We’re going to minimize the impact of the increase,” he said.

Working through the West Shore chamber to join a pool was helpful because the organization did much of the legwork, business owner Judy Zimmerman Walter said. She is an owner of Ultimate Car Wash and Lube in Derry Township, Dauphin County, and Zimmerman’s Automotive Service Inc. in Upper Allen Township, Cumberland County.

“They’re not going to go out and jump into something that they haven’t fully investigated,” she said. “That’s why I belong to a group like the chamber.”

—DAVID DAGAN

currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 13

Pollution's expense

Cap-and-trade won’t come cheap.

By David Dagan

Photo/Submitted: (Above) PPL Corp. expanded pollution controls at its Brunner Island coal-fired power plant, allowing it to sell emissions allowances to other companies under the cap-and-trade program for acid rain. PPL supports a similar program for greenhouse gases.

This system filters out soot and mixes sulfur dioxide with other substances to make gypsum, a building material.

A

ll four of Central Pennsylvania’s congressmen voted against the cap on global warming emissions that passed the House in June.

Critics say the legislation — known as cap-and-trade or Waxman-Markey, after its chief sponsors — amounts to a giant tax increase. The business community is divided: A coalition including Ford Motor Co., General Electric Co. and Shell oil company supports the legislation; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is opposed.

Putting a price tag on the initiative

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is difficult. Studies from two leading think tanks agree it would drain trillions out of the economy over its 40-year life span.

The bill aims to cut greenhouse-gas emissions to 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, using a system in which companies that produce high levels of pollutants buy permits from those with cleaner operations.

“It’s not free, but it’s doable,” said Adele Morris, policy director for climate and energy economics at the left-leaning Brookings Institution in

Washington, D.C. The right-leaning Heritage Foundation, also in Washington, painted the cost in more dire terms. “(The bill) promises serious perils for the American economy for the years and decades ahead,” the group wrote in a recent study.

The numbers produced by the two think tanks look roughly comparable, though.

Brookings’ analysis of an early version of the bill found it would take less than one year’s worth of personal

Central Penn Business Journal

consumption out of the U.S. economy over the next four decades, Morris said.

Another way to look at the impact is that the U.S. would take an extra year to hit the level of gross domestic product (GDP) it would otherwise have in 2050, Morris said. She stressed the Brookings study did not analyze the House bill, which had many complicated provisions. Rather, the study looked at a model that would have the same targets.

Heritage studied the bill, concluding the nation would forego about $9.4 trillion in economic output under the legislation between now and 2035. The nation’s GDP was about $14.3 trillion in 2008, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Put differently, Heritage found the nation’s GDP growth rate under the bill would be about one-tenth of a percentage point lower than otherwise each year through 2035.

“This doesn’t seem like much, but when compounded for 24 years (it)

makes a huge difference,” Heritage’s David Kreutzer wrote in an e-mail. He is senior policy analyst in energy economics and climate change.

The results from Brookings and Heritage are not apples to apples. But Kreutzer said he broadly agrees with the Brookings analysis. If the two analysts are in the same ballpark with regard to the economic impact of the bill, they disagree about whether it’s worth the cost. It’s a fair price to pay for a radical transformation of the U.S. energy industry, Morris said. Still, the bill would merely delay the inevitable with regards to global warming if the U.S. acted alone, she said.

“But I don’t think that’s the right way to think about it,” she said.

If all major economies took similar steps, the benefits would be substantial, Morris said. In other words, U.S. participation is necessary but not sufficient to reduce global warming, she said.

Heritage focused on growth in the developing world, which it said would

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overtake any U.S. cuts.

“The growth in CO2 emissions will swamp the cuts proposed in the U.S. by (the bill),” the foundation wrote in its study.

Some environmental groups also say the bill would be ineffective. Greenpeace said the emissions-reduction targets are too low. The group also criticized provisions that would allow polluters to pay for pro-environment initiatives such as tree-planting in lieu of buying emissions permits.

Morris and Kreutzer are not the only analysts to have taken a crack at the legislation.

The Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University estimated the value of the environmental benefits from the bill and said it would be worthwhile.

“The results indicate that (the bill) is cost-benefit justified under most reasonable assumptions about the likely ‘social cost of carbon,’” the authors wrote. continued on page 26

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The old is new

Experts: Pennsylvania’s future relies on clean coal technology.

By Lauren Seitz

Photo/Submitted: Seward Generating Station in East Wheatfield Township, Indiana County, is a waste coal-fired generating plant that received The Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. The facility, which began commercial operation in 2004, was built on the site of an 82-year-old, coal-fired power plant that was retired in 2003.

C

oal might not be the most glamorous form of electricity, but some experts say Pennsylvania’s future depends on it.

“Unless we can develop clean coal technology, and if other sources are substituted, it’s going to have a material impact on Pennsylvania’s economy and certainly on maintaining our rather enviable position of net exporter (of coal),” said David Biden, president of the Harrisburg-based Electric Power Generation Association.

Fifty-six percent of Pennsylvania’s electricity comes from coal; the state is the fourth-leading coal producer in the U.S., according to the Pennsylvania

16 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

Coal Association. Sixty-eight millions tons of coal were produced in the state in 2008.

Coal-fired plants are engines of development, creating jobs not only in coal mines but in transportation, insurance and related fields, Biden said.

Almost 50,000 jobs were related to the state’s coal industry in 2008.

Increasing coal-fueled electricity generation in the state by one- to twothirds could produce an additional $42 billion in economic output and create more than 250,000 jobs, according to the Washington-based American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

Cathy Coffey, northeastern regional

director who covers Pennsylvania, said a carbon capture and storage plant in West Virginia that opened Sept. 1 would lay the path for Pennsylvania, which does not have a similar plant.

Pennsylvania is home to bituminous coal, which accounted for almost 90 percent of the coal mined in the state in 2006, and anthracite coal. Both are used to produce electricity; bituminous coal is easier to ignite, Schobert said. Burning anthracite coal in power plants produces more carbon dioxide than burning bituminous coal because of the higher fixed carbon content in anthracite. Northeastern Pennsylvania is one of the only places in the U.S.

Central Penn Business Journal

www.centralpennbusiness.com

the carbon dioxide elsewhere.

In Pennsylvania, the ideal locations for carbon sequestration are the same places ideal for storing natural gas, Biden said. Competition for the land inevitably follows.

“The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is

currently inventorying the state for places suitable for sequestration,” he said. “I know they’ve been working with folks in the industry trying to find potential sites in the state with an eye towards eventually using them.”

Clean coal is a worthwhile continued on page 26

N

EC EW SE TR RVIC IC E IT Y

stable geological cavern. The concern with carbon sequestering is the cost of pumping carbon dioxide underground when the emitting plant is not in an environment conducive to underground storage. Costs skyrocket when companies have to build a pipeline to send

EL

where anthracite coal is found.

The inspiration to research the coals exists in the state. The problem is funding, experts said.

Harold Schobert, professor of fuel science at Penn State University and past president of the Earth and Mineral Sciences Energy Institute, has been instrumental in researching clean coal technology, including his creation of an anthracite-based product effective for use in commercial power plants.

“The work we did on anthracite showed you could use anthracite to replace the current raw material for synthetic graphite, petroleum coke, which sells at somewhere around $400 a ton,” he said. “Anthracite is on the market right now for around $100 (per ton). There is a huge potential markup available for this industry.”

But state government won’t fund clean coal research in the near future, said George Ellis, executive director of the Pa. Coal Association. Funding comes from private institutions like the Electric Power Research Institute in California or from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The federal government’s stimulus bill provides $3.4 billion for fossil energy research and development, with $1.5 billion allocated for industrial projects demonstrating carbon capture and storage research. Though Pennsylvania received $455 million in energy-related funds, none are allocated specifically for clean coal research.

Most often, clean coal funding is from individual companies investing in energy research.

Funding is typically given to companies investing in power plants near areas where captured carbon dioxide — the result of burning coal for fuel — can be sequestered underground in a

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Power play

Solar, wind projects roll in, government incentives roll out.

By Jessica Bair

W

hile solar power technology

has grown in popularity in the midstate over the past few years, wind energy is a market that is just beginning to get on its feet.

The Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority is preparing to enter the wind energy market.

Construction is scheduled to begin in March on the small commercial wind project along the Susquehanna River in Manor Township, Lancaster County. One or two wind turbines will be built on top of towers that are 260 feet tall on a site adjacent to the authority’s landfill. The authority owns the land and is partnering with PPL Electric Utilities Corp. on the roughly $8 million project.

When operating at maximum capacity, the project is expected to generate nearly three megawatts of electricity, enough to power nearly 3,000 homes, said James Warner, executive director of the authority. Because of the configuration of the land and the way the location juts out along the river, the area has good exposure to prevailing winds, he said.

“Hopefully, it’ll serve as an example to others to find pockets where unique wind opportunities might be available to find renewable energy,” Warner said.

“Central Pennsylvania is not generally known as a big high-wind area; you

18 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

Central Penn Business Journal

have to find unique spots.” energy and has partnered with PPL on with decent financial returns back to The Pennsylvania Energy Devel- another project where the authority the authority.” opment Authority gave the project a burns methane at PPL’s power plant to The Dauphin County Industrial De$1.5 million grant this year. The grant make electricity, Warner said. velopment Authority is working on a was paid for in part by funds the state “We have a real interest in leverag- renewable energy project, as well, but received from the American Reof the solar panel variety. covery and Reinvestment Act, The group is looking to buy Warner said. The federal eco10 acres between Middle Paxton nomic stimulus package also will Township and West Hanover save the partners money through Township and install more than tax credits, he said.

4,000 solar panels, which would Construction is expected to produce one megawatt of energy, be completed in September 2010. said August “Skip” Memmi, the The two groups expect to pay authority’s executive director. The about $4 million combined out of goal of the project is to reduce pocket to foot the bill and expect the authority’s energy costs by 8 to see a return on the investment percent to 10 percent annually, he within 10 years, he said. They are said. working out a deal to sell electricThe authority announced the ity to Turkey Hill Dairy; otherwise, roughly $7 million project near the —James Warner, Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority the energy will likely go back into beginning of September. If all the the grid, he said. necessary approvals are received, The authority already creates they hope to complete the project enough electricity to power one in six ing our business and our assets to early next year, he said. The goal is to homes in Lancaster County through make renewable energy,” Warner said. recapture the investment within nine two projects. It operates a waste-en- “We’re going to utilize the wind asset of to 15 years, he said. continued on page 27 ergy plant that burns trash to generate our property so we can have a project

“We’re going to utilize the

wind asset

of our property so we can have a project with decent

financial

returns

back to the authority.”

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Hot new trend

Energy efficiency breeds thermal start-ups.

By Eric Veronikis

T

Photo/Submitted: Jeff Snader of Snader’s Thermal Imaging takes a reading of a building with an infrared camera.

20 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

wo Central Pennsylvania businesses are employing infrared cameras to capture thermal images that help businesses and homeowners combat energy loss.

But Jeff Snader, co-owner of Snader’s Thermal Imaging, has had a tough time selling the service since many people don’t know what thermal imaging is yet, he said. Snader and his brother, Barry, own Snader’s Thermal Imaging based in Lititz, Lancaster County.

Kirk Jones, who owns Northeast Thermal Imaging based in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, said business has been decent. But both he and Snader said they believe thermal imaging is on the cusp of taking off because it complements the popular green building movement and energy prices are going to soar when rate caps are lifted next year.

Snader’s and Northeast Thermal Imaging use thermal images to pinpoint where heated and cooled air is escaping and wasting money.

Snader and Jones started their businesses this year. Both have been busy getting the message out to customers,

Central Penn Business Journal

going door to door to sell their services and make people aware of what thermal imaging is.

“It’s extremely slow. We went door to door a couple of weeks ago trying to give it away,” Jeff Snader said.

“Nobody knows what thermal imaging is. People we talk to ahead of time are convinced that we are there to condemn their windows and sell them more, but threequarters of the houses we tested are fine and don’t need anything.”

Thermal images don’t show naked-eye pictures of objects.

Rather, they use a pattern of colors to display the temperature of surfaces and leaks of heated or cooled air from objects. Snader’s only offers detection services. The company will refer a contractor to customers following testing, but Snader said he and his brother are not out to sell windows, insulation or doors. One of Snader’s services is an exterior house scan that costs $104.

Lancaster County resident Jeff M. Snader had Snader’s Thermal Imaging scan his house several months ago. The homeowner, Jeff M. Snader, who is not

“People we talk to

thermal imaging tests and the contractor does not own a thermal camera.

Several years ago, the contractor bought a Victorian-era house and renovated it. He added accordion insulation, replaced the house’s 33 windows and heating system and installed central air conditioning.

But he was still curious to find out how well his house held energy, especially through the walls, he said. So he had Snader’s Thermal Imaging scan the house a few months ago. The test did not show any major leaks that needed to be addressed, he said.

After scanning a house, Jeff and Barry Snader review the pictures on a computer and report to their customers. They pinpoint energy loss, but are not able to quantify the loss in dollars.

Through a partnership with a company in Scotland called IRT Surveys, Northeast Thermal Imaging is able to

ahead of time are convinced

that we are there to

condemn their windows and sell them more,

but three-quarters of the houses we tested

are fine and

don’t need anything.”

—Jeff Snader, Snader’s Thermal Imaging

related to Jeff L. Snader, is a contractor who also is a certified energy auditor.

His company is called PA Homeworks.

Energy audits don’t always include

continued on page 27

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10 energy fixes for the office Compiled by Lauren Seitz

C

reating a more energy-efficient work environment doesn’t have to cost a fortune. A seemingly small change to an office can result in a major increase in energy savings as well as a valuable environmental impact. The following are simple, zero- or low-cost energy fixes recommended by state and national energy and environmental groups that can be applied to offices big and small:

2

Keep blinds and drapes closed during the day throughout summer months to keep the heat outside.

During the winter, draw the blinds and drapes closed at night to keep heat inside.

5

Use occupancy sensors to switch off lights in areas where workers are not always present. Rather than keeping lights on in the kitchen, restroom , closet, meeting room or mail room all day, install low-cost infrared or ultrasonic sensors to shut off the lights when rooms are not in use.

8

Seal air leaks. Check where plumbing and wiring pass through walls, as they may be sources of air leaks. Also check around windows, doors and wallor window-mounted air conditioners for drafts.

3

Lower the thermostat to about 68 degrees in the winter to conserve energy and save money. Consider turning the heating or air conditioning on later in the day and turning it off earlier near the end of the day.

1

Clean vents to make sure dust, lint and other debris are not blocking them and therefore making your heating system less efficient.

4

Set guidelines for employees’ heating and cooling devices and adjust building temperature accordingly. Set wattage maximums for space heaters and encourage workers to use heating pads instead — they’re safer and provide direct contact heat.

6

7

9

10

Turn down the water heater to 120 degrees. It lowers your energy bill and slows mineral buildup and corrosion, extending the heater’s lifetime. If you have an office dishwasher, you may need to set the water temperature to 140 degrees for optimum cleaning.

Activate energy-saving capabilities on computers overnight. Time lost in turning a computer on and off each day is more than some office workers can spare, so enabling energy-saving modes such as sleep or hibernation may be more time-appropriate and energy-efficient.

Install task lights appropriate to each worker’s or activity’s needs to avoid using unnecessary overhead lighting.

Minimize lighting in hallways and lobbies.

Install a green roof if your company has the time and money.

A green roof can control storm water runoff and reduce water pollutants.

The results are not only lowered energy costs and a longer roof life, but also less waste entering local waterways and therefore better water quality.

Sources: Pa. Public Utilities Commission, Pa. Department of General Services, U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

22 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

Central Penn Business Journal

INfrastructure

Nature's energy

continued from page 2

continued from page 3

plans, Candori said. If there isn’t a river basin commission in an area where drillers are working, DEP will review the water treatment plan, she said.

The number of drillers has increased as the price of natural gas has grown over the past few years, Candori said.

Marcellus Shale is not easy to extrude because it’s buried 5,000-8,000 feet below the surface. Other shale and limestone natural gas wells are only a few hundred feet deep. Marcellus Shale drillers drill vertically and horizontally to get to the resource, Engelder said.

Drillers penetrated Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania as early as 1930, but their target was another type of shale stone, he said. The first Marcellus Shale well was drilled in New York in 1880, Engelder said. The first massive hydraulic fracture

test for it in Pennsylvania took place in 2004.

There are other large rock formations across the U.S. that contain an abundance of natural gas, but none are larger than the Marcellus Shale formation that runs through Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Engelder said.

The natural gas contained in Marcellus Shale could increase the country’s energy resources by trillions of dollars. And the U.S. contains so much natural gas in the ground that the federal government should switch its dependence on oil to natural gas, he said.

“There is every reason to believe that America has a tremendous wealth in natural gas,” Engelder said. “And the wealth is so large that national energy policy should be readjusted to account for that fact.”

Announcing the 2nd annual

There has been much public discussion about water availability and its use for “fracing” — forcing it underground to separate gas from shale. Pennsylvania has an abundance of water.

Even if the gas industry drilled 3,000 wells a year, it is estimated that water consumption would be less than 1 percent of Pennsylvania’s average annual use of industrial process water. In 2009, we expect 550 wells to be drilled.

Gas drillers are looking to improve water use and treatment. Reuse could considerably reduce the amount of water needed and the infrastructure to deliver it. Researchers are exploring using acidic mine drainage for “fracing.” The science could help Pennsylvania

address many environmental concerns.

Let’s return to our second consideration. We know from timber and coal that great familysustaining jobs are in industries that harvest natural resources and energy. Even better jobs come from adding value to the resources. Gas is a source of energy; it also is a feedstock for plastics, chemicals, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals.

With abundant energy and water, accessible feedstock, a great work force, and tremendous research and teaching institutions, Pennsylvania can grow its economy.

To take advantage of these features we need modern infrastructure to attract investment and growth. We’ll need water and sewer systems

to provide more housing and that can supply new and expanded heavy industry. We need infrastructure on which raw materials and employees can be safely delivered to plant sites, while products and waste are safely transported away.

And we need information technology. Broadband access must be extended to the farthest reaches.

Pennsylvania stands on the cusp of a second industrial revolution fueled by new energy sources.

It’s an exciting time. We need the infrastructure that supports and connects the opportunity to our future prosperity.

David W. Patti is president and chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Business Council

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In the green continued from page 5

what balances out.” Skacel said.

“Renewable energy may make sense for one person, but it may not for another if it’s going to bankrupt their businesses.”

An example of this pushand-pull is Wagman Construction Inc.’s new headquarters in downtown York, which the company wants to get LEED certified.

The offices include features such as a lighting system that dims when natural light is available, recycled content used to make cabinets and other furniture, and the use of carpet glue, paint, caulk and sealants that are low in volatile organic compounds.

These features demonstrate the company can practice what it preaches, as well as filling market demand for green buildings, said Eric Menzer, the company’s senior vice president.

A similar strategy is planned for Codo 28, the company’s latest mixed-use project.

Wagman balanced its desire to go green with costs and the company’s mission. Therefore, it decided it didn’t want to add things like a vegetated roof or to power the building with renewable energy, he said.

Those features might make more financial sense for a group whose mission or particular facility is a closely tied to environmental stewardship, Menzer said.

Besides just becoming more environmentally friendly, going green can form the foundation of a firm’s business model, as it is with Lancaster County’s Laser Plus.

The business sells recycled toner cartridges and rebuilt printers, both of which cost less than new products and work

just as well, with the added bonus of keeping tons of waste out of area landfills, Renner said. Laser Plus also services machines and consults with businesses on how to increase energy efficiency.

The tricky part has been convincing customers that recycled or reused doesn’t mean lower quality, she said.

“I think it’s an attitude adjustment,” Renner said. “I hope people don’t shut down from all of the white noise. (Going green) is not as difficult as it seems.”

About 65 percent of the firm’s business comes from green products, and it’s the first business in the state to receive Green Plus certification, she said.

No less a corporate juggernaut than Walmart also has been taking steps to make its business greener, including adding floors that require soap

and water instead of wax, using natural lighting, buying some of its power from renewableenergy generators and rolling out incentives to encourage consumers to chose more sustainable products.

As an example of the latter, the company set a goal of only stocking concentrated laundry detergent by 2011. That doesn’t just save water, energy and packaging, spokesman Steven Restivo said. It also makes financial sense because it costs Walmart less to ship and allows the retailer to place more of the smaller containers on one shelf.

“For us,” Restivo said, “We see both an environmental impact and a bottom-line impact for our business.”

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www.centralpennbusiness.com Central Penn Business Journal

Attracting force continued from page 7

provides another 30 percent said. Pennsylvania is working to discount for solar installations attract solar manufacturers as on which small businesses can the price of solar installations take accelerated depreciation, continues to come down, which he said. will help offset rate increases The state ended the last fis- when rate caps are taken off cal-year with a $3.2 billion bud- electricity providers at the end get deficit and budget negotia- of this year, Griffiths said. tions could interfere with some York County-based precienergy incentives, Griffiths said. sion metal stamping company If Senate Bill 850 gets approved Die-Tech Inc. has benefitted during budget negotiations, two from the state’s clean-energy energy efficiency programs for efforts. Die-Tech cashed in on a small businesses and another DEP Small Business Energy Effor homeowners will get cut, ficiency Grant program so the he said. Other initiatives not company can install energyfunded by the budget will not efficient lighting in its facility. be affected, he said.

The program provided grants Gov. Ed Rendell announced to small businesses to pay for his Energy Independence 25 percent — up to $25,000 Strategy in 2007 that put — of the cost of buying energy$650 million into the clean efficient equipment or adopting energy economy, Griffiths said. energy-efficient practices, acThe state has made strides in at- cording to DEP. Earlier this year, tracting solar- and wind-power the state awarded Die-Tech manufacturers to the state, he a $13,324 grant for installing

lighting in 63 lighting fixtures, according to an e-mail from PK Dennis, Die-Tech’s marketing director. Die-Tech’s LED project is expected to save the company $1,370 annually, Dennis said.

The grant program is now closed. The state was prepared to open a second round of funding in July if the money was included in the state budget, according to DEP. But the General Assembly and Rendell had yet to adopt a budget as of press time.

Die-Tech looked into installing a solar photovoltaic system last year, but ran into a wall because of the cost, said Richard W. Dennis, company president.

Even at a discounted rate, it would have cost $1 million to install the system and there were no state programs to help offset the cost, Dennis said. The system would have cut 10 per-

cent of the company’s annual electricity usage, which isn’t practical compared to the cost, he said. However, within the past few months, the state has unrolled several new programs.

“There were new programs announced about two or three months ago and we have been looking at the financial impact of those. We are at the point where one of our concerns is that solar is still really a supportive strategy. I guess that’s our frustration,” Dennis said. “I believe we have an issue with the burning of fossil fuels. We need to be looking at alternatives. We still don’t see a replacement strategy.”

Coal will always be a part of that mix, but won’t be able to compete if governments pick winners in the energy game, Ellis said.

“As long as there’s a level playing field, and all these sources are competing against each other, we don’t have a problem,” he said.

The alternative energy portfolio is an example of government choosing which energy sources should have an advantage, he said. The association is opposed to HB 80’s passage.

The bill also requires emissions from coal plants to be captured and stored. The technology to do that is expensive, but the bill directs energy production away from coal, so the incentive for companies to improve is minimal, Ellis said. It also could cost more for companies and consumers, he said.

Coal accounts for 56 percent of Pennsylvania’s electricity and continues to be the cheapest source of energy, he said.

“Any regulation that drives energy use away from coal is going to drive up electricity rates,” he said.

Pennsylvania’s energy demand is projected to grow by 1.5 percent per year for the next 10 years, Walsh said. Energy demand for PJM Interconnection, the 13-state electricity grid that includes Pennsylvania, is projected to grow 13 percent by 2030. For that reason, reliable energy sources such as nuclear must continue to be a large part of Pennsylvania’s power, she said.

“We need to meet this growing demand,” Walsh said. “The supply isn’t keeping up with the demand. We all have to produce more to meet that.”

Atomic option continued from page 9

included in state legislation that mandates how much of our energy comes from alternative and renewable resources.

The legislature is reviewing Pennsylvania’s 2004 Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, which requires 18 percent of electricity sold to be generated by alternative or renewable sources, such as solar, wind and municipal waste incineration by 2020.

The law also creates credits that energy companies can trade or sell to others that can’t meet mandates, according to the state Public Utility Commission. The credits are created every time a certified alternative energy facility generates 1,000 kilowatts of electricity.

State House Bill 80 would amend those standards to require that more than 35 percent of the state’s energy come

www.centralpennbusiness.com

from alternative sources by 2024. It does not include energy produced through capacity upgrades at nuclear facilities.

“We think it’s very important that nuclear energy should be included in that alternative energy provision,” Archer said. “It doesn’t produce carbon (emissions), so it shouldn’t be treated any differently than wind or solar.”

Atomic energy does produce nuclear waste, which has to be stored. Exelon stores its waste on site at Peach Bottom and Three Mile Island, Archer said.

“None of these energy sources is perfect,” said George Ellis, president of the Pennsylvania Coal Association, a Harrisburgbased trade group.

The group is not opposed to the expansion and diversification of Pennsylvania’s alternative energy sources, he said.

currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 25

Pollution's expense

The old is new

continued from page 15

continued from page 17

The U.S. Department of En- inflation rather than to discount ergy in August calculated the them, he said. The EIA study loss to GDP under the bill be- also makes unrealistic assumptween 2012 and 2030. Those raw tions about the expansion of numbers were then adjusted for nuclear power and other points, their present value. The idea is Kreutzer said. that money is more valuable Meanwhile, the American in the present than in the fu- Petroleum Institute and Nationture, so future figures must be al Association of Manufacturers adjusted downward to reflect have issued studies warning the that. The loss fell between about bill would do severe damage to $566 billion and $1.9 trillion. their industries.

The present-value adjustAllentown-based PPL Corp. ment is known as discounting. runs power plants and delivers It’s an appropriate and common electricity in Central Pennsyltechnique for studies looking at vania. The company supports values far into the future, Mor- the overall thrust of the bill, ris said. spokesman George Lewis said.

The technique is usually used Predicting the cost at this point to compare costs with benefits is premature, with so many or to make an investment deci- moving parts in the legislation; sion, Kreutzer said. To describe but one thing is for sure, he said: the costs of Waxman-Markey “We can say with certainty that it in terms of today’s purchasing will cost customers more.” power, it’s better to simply adjust the numbers downward for

endeavor for the state, but it is unpopular politically compared to renewable energy, Biden said.

Legislation that mandates having specific percentages of electricity come from renewable sources will not create more jobs or result in lower costs, he said.

“As much as we talk about the great renewable future, (Pennsylvania) does not have a comparative economic advantage in any of the renewable fuels,” he said. “The greatest spur to commercialization of clean coal technology would be putting a carbon cap on or enacting a carbon tax.”

FirstEnergy Generation Corp. is a company funding its own research efforts. FirstEnergy directs its research toward capturing carbon dioxide from existing power plants rather than new power plants, which is where the

United Electric Supply

federal government often focuses its funding, Biden said. Though it is based in Akron, Ohio, FirstEnergy’s electric subsidiaries reach throughout Pennsylvania.

“A lot of the clean coal technology has been looking at what you can do with new power plants, and this particular technology is geared towards capturing carbon from existing plants,” he said.

Consol Energy, headquartered in Canonsburg, Washington County, is one of the few companies in Pennsylvania to have constructed its own research and development site, Schobert said.

“There are some ideas floating around, and it’s very speculative they might not work, but somebody ought to try them out,” he said. “Maybe only two or three out of 100 ever pay off, but the ones that (do) pay off big time.”

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a PPL company

26 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

Central Penn Business Journal

Power play continued from page 19

About $2.5 million of the project will be paid for by county gaming funds and the authority is looking to bring in more financial assistance, Memmi said.

“We’re trying to reduce energy costs as much possible,” Memmi said. “I don’t believe any of us believes that the cost of energy is going to go down.”

In Lancaster County, Leolabased Blue Moon Enterprises’ business has increased by about 200 percent over the past year, said its president, Steve Mellinger. Blue Moon will occasionally dabble in the small wind-turbine industry, but the company focuses primarily on the design and installation of solar panels.

The projects are more often residential than business, but he said he sees that changing in the future.

“With the residential consum-

er, it’s easier for them to make a quicker decision, as long as they have the money set aside to do it,” Mellinger said. “Businesses always have to have the profitability in its immediacy.

You’re not going to kill yourself this year because you’re trying to see value eight years down the road, so it’s a little tougher for a business to make that kind of decision.”

Mellinger said solar-panel projects are most cost effective for those who already lead an efficient lifestyle. Some of his customers will experience an 8-year payback period under historical electricity rates, but when rate caps come off it’s possible the payback period will cut in half, he said.

While state and federal government may offer various incentives and try to encourage residents and businesses

to embrace clean energy, Mellinger said his firm pushes the technology because they believe in it.

“We sell solar on its own merit because we see the value and our customers see the value,” he said. “…with the rate caps coming off, you’re going to see such an increase in electricity prices that solar is going to make so much sense. We’re trying to gear up for that time because it’s just going to explode.”

But state and federal subsidies are making the technology artificially affordable and that’s not going to last forever, said Glen Thomas, president of the Montgomery County-based GT Power Group and former chair of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. GT Power Group develops regulatory strategies for companies regarding the energy industry.

Many clean energy projects are not cost effective without government subsidies, so if that money goes away, companies and individuals might have to find another way to fund such projects if the price remains the same, Thomas said.

But the government also is investing a lot of money into companies that work in renewable energy, which means a lot of startups are emerging within the energy industry, he said.

It’s a good business climate for those kinds of firms, he said.

“There’s a lot of money being thrown at renewable energy right now,” he said. “The bottom line is there’s not a lot in there for you and me but a lot in there for research (and) development.”

momentum in the U.S. because of increased energy prices and the new presidential administration, he said.

“The U.S. market has changed radically over the last two years.

President Obama and recent energy price rises are clear market drivers for this kind of technology and have directly impacted upon our web traffic from the states,” Little said. “Europe may be ahead slightly, but America is engaging at Warp Factor 5!”

Thermal imaging cameras can be used for dozens of purposes, Snader and Jones said.

The cameras cost anywhere from $6,000 to $70,000, they said. They once regularly cost $100,000.

Neither Snader or Jones intended to go into the thermal imaging business to detect energy loss. Snader was an automotive services manager for

25 years. After he was laid off, he and his brother came across a company in Florida that were using thermal imaging cameras to detect infections in dairy cows.

They, decided they would do the same and bought a camera.

However, they quickly realized it didn’t work like it was supposed to for dairy cattle, Snader said.

But it was fantastic on buildings, he said, and they decided they would scan buildings, instead.

Jones bought a thermal imaging camera to detect heat issues with electrical equipment and detect moisture within walls. Jones has been in the commercial construction industry for 23 years. He worked for a company 10 years ago that used infrared services to detect electrical heat problems. He was intrigued by the technology, he said, but couldn’t do any-

thing with it because at the time thermal imaging cameras were too expensive, he said.

Jones said he bought his camera for $20,000 and started his company in January. He decided to switch gears about a month and a half ago and use the camera for building scans because energy efficiency is such a hot topic and the technology is great for detecting energy, loss, he said.

Contractor Snader, who had his house scanned, said the service is well worthwhile, and energy audits soon will be a must in real estate. Energy audits don’t necessarily require thermal imaging, though.

“Pennsylvania is just getting on the bandwagon,” he said. “New Jersey and New York require energy audits before a house is sold.”

Hot new trend continued from page 21

give customers a report showing how much their energy loss is costing them, Jones said.

Northeast sends thermal images to IRT, which studies them and converts energy loss into dollar amounts.

“In Europe, all buildings bought and leased have to have an energy rating certificate,” Jones said. “(The U.S. is) just now getting on board. We also can detect CO2 loss released into the environment, which is the real driving motivator in Europe.”

IRT works with similar companies from the U.S. to Australia, wrote Stewart Little, IRT chief executive, in an e-mail.

Infrared detection is an emerging technology, Little said.

Camera prices have dropped sharply in recent years and this has removed barriers for detection, he said. It’s gaining

www.centralpennbusiness.com

currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 27

Fuel companies companies Fuel Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Prev. Company rank Address Web site

Services offered

Total local employees F-T/P-T

Top local executive Title Phone

2008 local/total revenue

% of business: comm./res.

Types of fuel

Gallons delivered in 2008 Delivery area

Local/total locations Headquarters Year established locally

50%/50% No. 2 heating oil

DNR Dauphin to Lewisberry, Palmyra and Carlisle

1/1 Harrisburg 1914

Commercial PHVAC, design/build mechanical contractor, residential and commercial service depts., new housing and replacement sales, residential and commercial fuel oil

5/6 York 1929

Commercial and residential heating and air conditioning; indoor air quality; sales, service and installation of heating and air-conditioning.

1

H.B. MCCLURE CO. 600 S. 17th St., P.O. Box 1745 Harrisburg, PA 17105-1745 www.hbmcclure.com

185 185/0

Robert F. McClure CEO (717) 232-4328

$29.21 million $29.21 million

3

SHIPLEY ENERGY 550 E. King St. York, PA 17405 www.shipleyenergy.com

148 144/4

William S. Shipley III CEO (717) 848-4100 (800) 839-1849

DNR DNR

4

WORLEY & OBETZ INC. 85 White Oak Road, P.O. Box 429 Manheim, PA 17545-0429 www.worleyobetz.com

136 115/21

Jeffrey B. Lyons President and CEO (717) 665-6891 (800) 697-6891

$416.69 million $416.69 million

70%/30% Bioheating fuels, gasoline, biodiesel fuels, propane, ethanol

134.97 million Residential: Chester, Dauphin, Lancaster and Lebanon counties; Commercial: five-state area

3/3 Penn Twp. 1946

Heating and air-conditioning sales and service, including solar, wind and geothermal; card-locks; propane; plumbing; fleet fueling; biodiesel

2

AERO ENERGY 230 Lincoln Way E. New Oxford, PA 17350-1213 www.aeroenergy.com

118 115/3

Thompson T. Washburn DNR (717) 624-4311 (800) 998-4311

DNR DNR

20%/80% Diesel, gasoline, kerosene, propane, heating oil

DNR Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware

3/7 New Oxford 1929

Fuel, HVAC service and installation

6

ESHENAURS FUELS INC. 200 S. 41st St. Harrisburg, PA 17111 www.eshenaursfuels.com

65 60/5

W. Craig Eshenaur President (717) 236-5031

$12 million $12 million

1/1 Swatara Twp. 1929

Plumbing, heating, air conditioning, sheet metal, wells, water treatment, machine shop, welding, fuel and propane

7

JEROME H. RHOADS INC. DBA RHOADS ENERGY CORP. 624 S. Prince St., P.O. Box 1198 Lancaster, PA 17608-1198 www.rhoadsenergy.com

35 32/3

Michael F. DeBerdine III President (717) 397-5277 (800) 673-2423

$34.9 million $34.9 million

20%/80% Heating oil, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel

DNR Lancaster and Chester counties

2/2 Lancaster 1917

Heating and cooling service and installation, Pacific Pride commercial fuel

MONTOUR HOME COMFORT SERVICE 80 S. 40th St. Harrisburg, PA 17111-2266 www.sunocoinc.com

25 22/3

Ken Lundy Branch manager (717) 564-1440 (888) 666-8687

DNR DNR

DNR/DNR DNR

DNR DNR

1/8 Montoursville, Lycoming Co. 1965

Home heating fuels, on- and off-road diesels, 24-hour emergency service; installation of oil-heating systems, propane systems, central air conditioning and related equipment

8

WEST SHORE OIL CO. INC. 419 S. State Road Marysville, PA 17053 www.wescohandc.com

17 15/2

Brian K. Walters President (717) 957-2121

DNR DNR

2%/98% Bio-fuel oil, propane, gasoline

DNR Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder

1/1 Marysville 1934

Complete HVAC service department, annual service agreements for maintenance, free estimates, replacement equipment

9

ABC FUEL OIL CO. INC. 25 N. Lockwillow Ave. Harrisburg, PA 17112

15 14/1

B. Scott Wolford President (717) 545-4758

DNR DNR

5%/95% Fuel oil, kerosene

DNR Cumberland, Dauphin and York counties

NR

EDRIS OIL SERVICE INC. 1225 Columbia Ave. York, PA 17404 www.edrisoil.com

12 11/1

Steven R. Edris President (717) 848-5001 (717) 848-5001

$77 million $77 million

50%/50% Diesel fuel (on-road/ off-road), fuel oil, gasoline

22.5 million York County

1/1 North York 1965

14

TALLEY PETROLEUM ENTERPRISES INC. 10046 Allentown Blvd.

Grantville, PA 17028 www.talleypetro.com

9 9/0

Judith A. Talley President (717) 469-0338 (800) 942-9711

$21.7 million $23.7 million

95%/5% Heating oil, on-road diesel, off-road diesel, kerosene, gasoline

8.5 million All of Central PA

1/1 E. Hanover Twp. 1997

15

LISI OIL CO. 137 E. Broad St. Elizabethville, PA 17023 www.lisioil.com

3 3/0

Randall Lisi Owner (717) 362-3373

DNR DNR

DNR/DNR Heating oil, kerosene, off-road diesel

NR

30%/70% DNR Heating oil, propane, Adams, Centre, Clearfield, natural gas, gasoline Cumberland, Dauphin, and diesel Franklin, Fulton, Huntington, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry and York

20%/80% DNR Heating oil, propane, 45-mile radius of Harrisburg ULSD off-road diesel

Home delivery, Pacific Pride card lock system, transport tanker delivery

Petroleum products

DNR 1/1 Oil-heat installation and repair, Upper Dauphin, lower Washington Twp. 24-hour emergency service Northumberland and western 1965 Schuylkill counties

DBA-doing business as DNR-did not respond NA-not applicable NR-not ranked The Central Penn Business Journal's list of fuel companies is limited to those in or near Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry or York counties. Information came from the individual companies and other Business Journal research. To access the Business Journal's online database, visit www.centralpennbusiness.com/listcentral.asp. Published May 1, 2009; updated Oct. 9, 2009.

28 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

2/2 Service and installation of heating Lower Paxton Twp. and cooling equipment; duct cleaning; 1964 fuel oil and kerosene delivery

Researched by Alaine Keisling

Central Penn Business Journal

LEED-accredited professionals professionals LEED-accredited Ranked by number of LEED-accredited professionals employed locally Rank Prev. Company rank Address Web site

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

NR GANNETT FLEMING INC. 207 Senate Ave. (Camp Hill), P.O. Box 67100 Harrisburg, PA 17106-7100 www.gannettfleming.com

Local/total LEEDaccredited professionals

Top local executive Title Phone

2008 local/total revenue LEED practice areas

F-T/P-T local employees Local/total locations Headquarters Year established locally

12 18

William M. Stout Chairman and CEO (717) 763-7211 (800) 233-1055

$87.62 million/$259.2 million Architecture, mechanical, electrical, structural

1,002/84 3/55 E. Pennsboro Twp. 1915

6

REESE LOWER PATRICK & SCOTT LTD. 1910 Harrington Drive Lancaster, PA 17601-3973 www.rlps.com

10 10

James D. Reese Managing partner (717) 560-9501

DNR/DNR Architecture and interior design

63/8 1/1 Manheim Twp. 1954

1

REYNOLDS CONSTRUCTION MGT. INC. 3300 N. Third St. Harrisburg, PA 17110-1407 www.reynoldsconstruction.com

9 9

Richard T. Reynolds CEO (717) 238-5737

$65.4 million/$69.1 million LEED consulting, construction management, building commissioning and design engineering

106/1 1/2 Harrisburg 1994

2

GANFLEC ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS INC. 209 Senate Ave. Camp Hill, PA 17011-2332 www.ganflec.com

9 10

Joseph G. Botchie President (717) 763-7220

DNR/DNR Architecture; landscape architecture; mechanical, civil/site and electrical engineering; waste mgt.; commissioning

82/7 1/3 E. Pennsboro Twp. 1978

8

BUCHART HORN INC./BASCO ASSOCIATES 445 W. Philadelphia St., P.O. Box 15040 York, PA 17405-7040 www.bh-ba.com

8 10

Brian S. Funkhouser PE, President and CEO (717) 852-1400 (800) 274-2224

$24.6 million/$45.6 million Engineering, architecture, landscape architecture

149/12 4/18 York 1945

8 12

David A. Brinjac PE and John M. Brinjac PE Principals (717) 233-4502 (877) 274-6526 Richard M. Miller Vice president (717) 901-7055

$7.9 million/$13 million Engineering, commissioning

77/3 1/6 Harrisburg 1955

$1.12 million/$42.43 million Mechanical, electrical, land development and structural

56/0 1/7 Hunt Valley, Md. DNR

NR BRINJAC ENGINEERING INC. 114 N. Second St., P.O. Box 1290 Harrisburg, PA 17101-1401 www.brinjac.com 7

CENTURY ENGINEERING INC. 200 Airport Road New Cumberland, PA 17070 www.centuryeng.com

8 37

4

ALEXANDER BUILDING CONSTRUCTION CO. 315 Vaughn St. Harrisburg, PA 17110 www.alexanderbuilding.com

7 19

Richard Seitz President (717) 234-7041

$61.2 million/$22.8 million Pre-construction and construction services

34/0 1/2 Harrisburg 1928

7 21

D. Vincent Weiser PE Senior VP and COO (717) 766-1741

$21 million/$50 million Engineering services

117/0 1/7 Rochester, N.Y. 1954

NR ERDMAN ANTHONY ASSOCIATES INC. 100 Sterling Parkway, Suite 212 Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 www.erdmananthony.com

Ferguson Elementary School, Selinsgrove Elementary School, Selinsgrove High School, Hort Woods Childcare Center, PA Association of School Business Officials office, Bucher Elementary School and more Exelon Visitors Center Fairless Hills, Bucks Co.; Greater Richmond, Va., transit operations bldg.; Campus Square office bldg., Harrisburg DNR

Sinnemahoning Visitor Center Richard Byrd Community Library

Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center; The Hotel Hershey expansion; Killens Pond State Park Nature Center, Felton, Del. Buckhorn Office Building, Raytheon Corp. Renovations, Allentown School District , (2 schools),

Newport School District; Selinsgrove School District; Millersville University SMC

7 8

N. Daniel Waltersdorff President (717) 845-7654

$5.18 million/$6.44 million MEP system design and commissioning

60/2 1/2 York 1968

Volvo construction equipment addition; York Suburban SD Yorkshire Elementary School; United Natural Foods Inc. renovations

3

WARFEL CONSTRUCTION CO. 1110 Enterprise Road East Petersburg, PA 17520 www.warfelcc.com

6 6

Ralph E. Simpson Jr. President and CEO (717) 299-4500

$76.99 million/$76.99 million General construction and construction mgt.

98/0 1/1 E. Hempfield Twp. 1911

Dickinson College Trickett Hall; St. Andrew's School field house expansion; Warfel Construction Co. office renovations

22

BENCHMARK CONSTRUCTION CO. INC. 4121 Oregon Pike, P.O. Box 806 Brownstown, PA 17508 www.benchmarkgc.com

5 5

Michael K. Callahan President (717) 626-9559

$72.88 million/$72.88 million Preconstruction, project management

135/5 1/1 W. Earl Twp. 1985

9

NOELKER AND HULL ASSOCIATES INC. 30 W. King St. Chambersburg, PA 17201 www.noelkerhull.com

5 5

Michael G. Hull AIA President (717) 263-8464

DNR/DNR Architecture and interior design

35/2 1/2 Chambersburg 1957

20

FOREMAN ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS 2685 Hossler Road, P.O. Box 189 Manheim, PA 17545-0189 www.foremangroup.com

5 15

Phillip Foreman Owner and president (717) 653-0589

DNR/DNR Architecture, engineering, commissioning, roofing design, landscape architecture, and interior design

17/0 1/3 Rapho Twp. 1991

4 4

P. Michael Jones President (717) 840-8181

$14 million/$15 million Facility design

78/2 1/3 Springettsbury Twp. 1983

16

NR PENNONI ASSOCIATES INC. 1215 Manor Drive Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 www.pennoni.com

4 20

Steven L. Barber Vice president (717) 975-6481

$6.2 million/$96.24 million Civil and environmental eng.; landscape arch.

39/5 1/20 Philadelphia 1988

NR CRABTREE, ROHRBAUGH & ASSOCIATES INC. 401 E. Winding Hill Road Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 www.cra-architects.com 11 MCKISSICK ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS PC 317 N. Front St. Harrisburg, PA 17101-1606 www.mckissickassociates.com

4 4

Thomas C. Crabtree President (717) 458-0272 (866) 458-0272

DNR/DNR Architecture

87/0 1/2 Upper Allen Twp. 1984

4 4

Vern L. McKissick III President (717) 238-6810

DNR/DNR Architecture

22/0 1/2 Harrisburg 1999

4 4

Frank E. Dittenhafer II FAIA Vice president (717) 848-8627

DNR/DNR Architecture and interior design

18/1 1/2 York 1985

19

Landis Homes, Lititz; Pennswood Village, Newtown; Delaware Hospice, Wilmington, Del.

BARTON ASSOCIATES INC. 221 W. Philadelphia St. York, PA 17401-2991 www.ba-inc.com

NR ST. ONGE CO. 1400 Williams Road York, PA 17402-7628 www.stonge.com

18

PA Air National Guard ASOS building; Campus Square Office, Greater Richmond Transit Corp. bus maintenance facility, Metro-North Croton Harmon rail shop, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology

5

15

17

Current projects seeking LEED certification

26

MURPHY & DITTENHAFER INC. 226 W. Market St. York, PA 17401-1008 www.murphdittarch.com

DBA-doing business as DNR-did not respond NA-not applicable NR-not ranked SD-school district The Central Penn Business Journal's list of LEED-accredited professionals is limited to firms in or near Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry or York counties that employ at least one person with LEED accreditation. Information came from the individual companies, the U.S. Green Building Council and other Business Journal research. To access the Business Journal's online database, visit www.centralpennbusiness.com/listcentral.asp. Published May 1, 2009; updated Oct. 13, 2009. www.centralpennbusiness.com

DNR

Penn State University (on hold)

Deer Lakes High School

None YTD

DNR

Camp Hill Eisenhower Elementary School; Midd-West High School; Sudlersville Middle School; Middleburg Elementary School; Cabela's Lacey; Caleb W. Bucher Elementary Plainfield Elementary School - Big Spring SD; Summerfield Elementary School - Guilford Co NC; McCall Middle School - Montoursville Area SD; Reading Citadel Intermediate High School - Reading SD CODO 26 lofts/flats, Wagman Construction, Inc. headquarters, Fulton Financial Drovers Division renovations, Susquehanna Gateway Visitor Education Center Researched by Alaine Keisling

currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 29

Electricity-distribution companies Electricity-distribution companies Ranked by Pennsylvania electric distribution revenue Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Prev. rank

Company Address Web site

2007 electric distribution/ operating revenue

Top executive Title Phone

Total kilowatt hours sold in PA in 2007 Avg. local/PA customers in 2007 Total employees

Headquarters Year established

PA coverage area

1

PECO ENERGY CO. 2301 Market St. Philadelphia, PA 19101 www.exeloncorp.com

$2.21 billion $5.61 billion

Denis P. O'Brien President and CEO (215) 841-4000 (800) 494-4000

39.27 billion 4,004 1.56 million NA

Philadelphia 1929

3

METROPOLITAN EDISON CO. 2800 Pottsville Pike, P.O. Box 16001 Reading, PA 19640 www.firstenergycorp.com

$1.23 billion $1.51 billion

Ronald P. Lantzy Regional president (610) 921-6713

14.34 billion 277,180 543,811 763

Muhlenberg Twp. 1974

2

PPL ELECTRIC UTILITIES CORP. 2 N. Ninth St. Allentown, PA 18101 www.pplweb.com

$1.11 billion $3.56 billion

David G. DeCampli President (610) 774-2426 (800) 342-5775

38.23 billion 447,630 1.39 million NA

Allentown 1920

29 counties, including Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties

4

PA ELECTRIC CO. 2800 Pottsville Pike, P.O. Box 16001 Reading, PA 19640 www.firstenergycorp.com

$456.52 million $1.40 billion

Douglas S. Elliott Executive VP (814) 868-8710

13.88 billion 6,278 589,481 NA

Muhlenberg Twp. NA

32 counties, including Cumberland, Perry and York

6

DUQUESNE LIGHT CO. 411 Seventh Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 www.duquesnelight.com

$402.14 million $896.97 million

Morgan K. O’Brien President and CEO (412) 393-6000 (888) 393-7100

14.16 billion 0 586,513 1,119

Pittsburgh 1903

7

PENNSYLVANIA POWER CO. 2800 Pottsville Pike, P.O. Box 16001 Reading, PA 19612 www.firstenergycorp.com

$73.96 million $289.42 million

Douglas S. Elliott Executive VP NA (800) 720-3600

2.54 billion 0 159,298 224

Muhlenberg Twp. NA

5

UGI UTILITIES INC. 100 Kachel Blvd., Suite 400 Reading, PA 19607 www.ugi.com

$30.52 million $128.98 million

David W. Trego President and CEO (610) 796-3400 (800) 276-2722

1.02 billion 0 62,290 88

Reading NA

CITIZENS' ELECTRIC CO. OF LEWISBURG 1775 Industrial Blvd., P.O. Box 551 Lewisburg, PA 17837 www.citizenselectric.com

$3.47 million $12.84 million

Eric W. Winslow President and CEO (570) 524-2231

176.66 million 0 6,734 17

Lewisburg 1911

NR

Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia and York counties

15 counties, including Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York

Allegheny and Beaver counties

Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango counties

Luzerne and Wyoming counties

Northumberland and Union counties

DBA-doing business as NA-not available NR-not ranked The Central Penn Business Journal's list of electricity-distribution companies was limited to those in Pennsylvania. Information came from the individual companies, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and other Business Journal research. PUC data was provided by the companies for 2007. To access the Business Journal's online database, visit www.centralpennbusiness.com/listcentral.asp. Published March 20, 2009; updated Oct. 9, 2009.

Researched by Alaine Keisling

$AVE ENERGY DOLLAR$ NOW

Do you want to save energy, save money and save the environment?

o o

For a free energy survey, call

o

us today at 800.932.0403

o

Harrisburg 1830 S. 19th Street 717-986-9300 Mechanicsburg 5205 Simpson Ferry Rd 717-795-9300 Lebanon 2030 Cornwall Rd 717-274-9494

Serving all of Central Pennsylvania since 1901!

30 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

o o o

Get an energy audit from a licensed energy auditor.

Implement the cost effective recommendations arising from the audit.

Change out old appliances and install EnergyStar® .

Unplug your computer and television when you are leaving home for an extended period of time.

Change out all light bulbs to CFL bulbs.

Attic and basement may need new or additional insulation.

Utilize Electric Utility Home Energy Calculator website.

Energy Association of Pennsylvania 800 North Third Street, Suite 301 Harrisburg, PA 17102

Central Penn Business Journal

Gas-distribution companies Gas-distribution companies Ranked by Pennsylvania gas operating revenue Rank Prev. Company rank Address Web site

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

2

4

3

5

7

8

9

12

10

2007 PA gas operating revenue

Top executive Title Phone

Avg. Pa. customers in 2007 Total employees

Headquarters Year established locally

PECO ENERGY CO. 2301 Market St. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1338 www.exeloncorp.com UGI UTILITIES INC. 100 Kachel Blvd., Suite 400 Reading, PA 19607 www.ugi.com COLUMBIA GAS OF PENNSYLVANIA INC. 501 Technology Drive Canonsburg, PA 15317-9585 www.columbiagaspamd.com PEOPLES NATURAL GAS CO., DBA DOMINION PEOPLES 501 Martindale St. Pittsburgh, PA 15212 www.dom.com NATIONAL FUEL GAS DISTRIBUTION CORP. 1100 State St. Erie, PA 16501-1912 www.nationalfuelgas.com

$817.23 million

Denis P. O'Brien President (215) 841-4000 (800) 494-4000 David W. Trego President and CEO (610) 796-3400 (800) 276-2722 Terrence J. Murphy President (724) 416-6300

481,434 548

Philadelphia NA

327,333 882

Reading 1882

412,259 495

Cecil Twp., Washington County 1885

Natural-gas distribution and customer service

$373.89 million

Jimmy Staton Senior VP of gas delivery (412) 497-6101 (800) 764-0111

358,847 487

Pittsburgh 1888

Provides natural gas in western Pennsylvania

$329.91 million

212,945 343

Williamsville, N.Y. 1902

Provides natural gas to approximately 214,000 customers in 14 counties in northwestern Pennsylvania

UGI PENN NATURAL GAS INC. 1 UGI Center Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711-0601 www.ugipng.com PPL GAS UTILITIES CORP. 2 N. Ninth St. Allentown, PA 18101-1179 www.pplweb.com NORTH EAST HEAT & LIGHT CO. 10700 W. Main Road North East, PA 16428-2228

$310.74 million

Carl M. Carlotti Senior VP of national distribution (814) 871-8000 (800) 365-3234 Robert R. Stoyko VP of operations (570) 829-3461 (800) 432-8017 David G. DeCampli CEO NA (800) 652-0550 Samuel S. Miller President (814) 725-4302

159,958 378

Hanover Twp., Luzerne County 1854

Distributes natural gas to approximately 158,000 customers in 13 counties, as well as Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport

76,191 295

Allentown 1946

Natural gas delivery company for about 75,000 homes and businesses in 34 Pennsylvania counties and a small part of Maryland

2,942 8

North East, Erie County 1886

PIKE COUNTY LIGHT & POWER One Blue Hill Plaza Pearl River, NY 10965 www.oru.com

$1.87 million

John D. McMahon President NA (877) 434-4100

NA NA

Pearl River, N.Y. 1910

$543.41 million

$509.66 million

$146.87 million

$4.85 million

Services provided

Electric and natural-gas distribution in southeastern Pennsylvania Natural gas and electric utility for eastern Pennsylvania

NA

Provides electricity to five municipalities in Pike County

DBA-doing business as NA-not available NR-not ranked The Central Penn Business Journal's list of gas-distribution companies was limited to those with customers in Pennsylvania. Information came from the individual companies, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and other Business Journal research. To access the Business Journal's online database, visit www.centralpennbusiness.com/listcentral.asp.

Published March 20, 2009; updated Oct. 9, 2099.

Researched by Alaine Keisling

What a Bright Idea!

NEW PA SUNSHINE PROGRAM will provide rebates up to 35% for residential and small business photovoltaic and solar hot water installations.

PLUS Federal Tax Credit of 30% for all residential and commercial installations of photovoltaic and hot water solar. (consult your tax advisor for your specific situation.)

Call us TODAY for details. www.wilcoelectric.com 877-684-8221 Columbia, PA

PA15539

SunLion Energy Systems, Inc. 717-898-8700 • 800-886-4762 2330 Dairy Road • Lancaster, PA 17601 www.sunlionenergysystems.com

The Do-Able Renewable www.centralpennbusiness.com

currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9 | 31

Electrical, plumbing plumbing and Electrical, and HVAC HVAC distributors distributors Ranked by local revenue Rank Company Address Web site

2008 local/total revenue

Top local executive Title Phone

Types of equipment Product lines

Local F-T/P-T emp.

Local/total locations Headquarters Year established locally

Services provided

$58.75 million $90.12 million

Mark Bucci President (717) 273-4514 (800) 333-9253

Lighting fixtures, light bulbs, wire, conduit, power distrib./ generation, wiring devices, tools, wire mgt GE, Eaton, Broan Nutone, Progress, Seagull, Milwaukee, Generac, Ideal, Klein, Lutron, Pass & Seymour, AFC, Ipex

178/2 6/9 Lebanon 1940

Retail and wholesale electrical supply distributor

1

YALE ELECTRIC SUPPLY CO. INC. 312 N. Eighth St. Lebanon, PA 17046 www.yaleelectricsupply.com

2

UNITED ELECTRIC SUPPLY INC. 1564 Fruitville Pike Lancaster, PA 17601 www.unitedelectric.com

$28 million $182 million

Tom Eldon Branch manager (717) 392-8500 (800) 540-1794

Products and services for electrical contractors, manufacturers and industrial customers DNR

25/0 1/16 Lancaster 1985

Electrical and renewable-energy products distributor; lighting design; automation; powersavings surveys and products

3

THOS. SOMERVILLE CO. 3140 Hempland Road Lancaster, PA 17601 www.tsomerville.com

$25 million $180 million

Randy Reinard Manager (717) 399-7700 (800) 527-5862

Furnaces, air conditioners, toilets, boilers, water heaters Luzaire, Ao Smith, Delta, Kohler, Moen, Gerber, Clarion

44/1 3/22 Marlboro, Md. 1980

DNR

4

HVAC DISTRIBUTORS INC. 2 Old Market St., P.O. Box 160 Mount Joy, PA 17552-0160 www.hvacdist.com

$19.6 million $39.2 million

David W. McIlwaine President and CEO (717) 653-6674 (800) 228-4822

Furnaces, air-conditioning equipment, geothermal, solar Amana, Goodman, Luzaire, Climate Master

DNR/DNR 2/4 Mount Joy 1987

Heating and air-conditioning equipment distribution

YORK CORRUGATING CO. DBA YC SUPPLY 120 S. Adams St. York, PA 17404 www.ycsupply.com APR SUPPLY CO. 749 Guilford St. Lebanon, PA 17046-3531 www.aprsupply.com

$18.5 million $18.5 million

Kim P.C. Raub President (717) 845-3511 (800) 829-9226

DNR TOTO, Mansfield, Elkay, Rheem, Bradford White, Moen, Delta, LG, Noritz, Maax, Burnham

62/0 5/5 York 1902

Plumbing and HVAC equipment and supplies; sheet-metal fabrication

$18.48 million $50.93 million

Scott M. Weaver President and CEO (717) 274-5999

Plumbing, heating, HVAC, controls Maytag, Tappan, Gibson, Fujitsu, Utica, New Yorker, Buderus, Bradford White, Delta, Moen, Toto, Honeywell, Navien

103/8 8/23 Lebanon 1922

Wholesale distributor of airconditioning, plumbing and heating products and supplies

$2.3 million $2.3 million

Shari L. Leaman President (717) 767-1850

Air filters, fan belts, pan treatments, filter housings, air cleaners, dust-collection systems, pollution control Airguard, Filtration Group, Air Seal, Flanders, Micro Air, Air Quality Engineering, NIKRO, Envirco, Filtrair, Atmos-Tech.

6/4 1/1 Manchester Twp. 2000

Indoor air-quality testing, mold remediation, duct cleaning, LEED 3.2 air sampling, IAQ training

5 6 7

AIRBORNE CONTAMINATION IDENTIFICATION ASSOCIATES LTD. 2 Interchange Place, Suite D York, PA 17406 www.acia-ltd.com

DBA-doing business as DNR-did not respond NA-not applicable NR-not ranked The Central Penn Business Journal's list of electrical, plumbing and HVAC distributors was limited to those in or near Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry or York counties. Information came from the individual companies and other Business Journal research. To access the Business Journal's online database, visit www.centralpennbusiness.com/listcentral.asp. Published March 27, 2009; Oct. 9, 2009.

Researched by Alaine Keisling

Providing efficient economical heating, cooling and electricity to the downtown business district and Capitol Complex.

NRG Energy Center Harrisburg LLC | 100 North Tenth St., Harrisburg, PA 17101 | 717-234-4600

32 | currents: T he B u s i ness o f E nergy 2 0 0 9

Central Penn Business Journal

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