Over the past 30 years, Ralph Tyree has ?performed a number of roles at East Kentucky Power Cooperative. He describes its investments in renewable energy to Exec Digital
By Lucy Mowatt
Formed in 1941 as a non-profit organisation, East Kentucky Power Cooperative is a business that mainly focuses on coal fired power generation. Ralph Tyree, however, has a unique role not only within the Cooperative, but the State of Kentucky.
His job title is Manager of Non-Traditional Power Production Projects and he explains what this involves: “I evaluate new options, deliver business plans, and negotiate site leases and purchases. I also utilise various consulting companies to design and develop projects; upon completion I become responsible for the budget, operations and maintenance of these projects.” He describes this as a “turnkey approach” that no one else in the industry offers.
As a cooperative, the board is not only made up of managers and directors from the 16 distribution companies, it is made up of customers, or ‘members’ of the cooperative. This means that the customers have a say in the decisions made by the Board, which Ralph Tyree claims keeps communities involved. EKPC is present in 89 of the State’s 120 counties and has 500,000 members, which keeps each company focused on its customers.
He also says: “We take a lot of pride in our involvement in these communities around the State; employees live and work in these areas and it means that the cooperatives are accessible to their members. Many distribution companies have offices around their service territories, so that customers don’t have to travel 100 miles to go to a main office.”
Equally important are the educational schemes that EKPC offers. Tyree provides an overview of the programs that the Cooperative offers to schools around Kentucky, which helps children to understand environmental issues and power generation: “We’ve taken Green Energy programs to schools and we have Solar Power Projects in three schools in the State of Kentucky, teaching children about solar energy and how it is produced.”
Positive employment package
Right now, the company has 621 full time employees and 25 part time, temporary employees, who are employed at peak periods. Overall, EKPC only has a two percent employee turnover rate, which is very impressive; many people have a service history of 25 to 35 years at EKPC. This may be because the companies which make up the Cooperative offer a competitive employment package. Benefits include sick days, paid holiday and good salaries. These rates are annually compared with similar jobs in the market and are adjusted accordingly.
EKPC also offers other incentives to encourage employee loyalty. Mr Tyree enthuses about the educational package on offer, including a program supporting continuing education. “EKPC pays full tuition fees for employees in job related or approved degree courses and supports membership in professional organisations. They also provide a well-defined system of skilled based training, which involves courses, classes and develops a skills base. The people that work directly for me are encouraged to go to at least one or two seminars a year, which gives them pride and satisfaction in what they do.”
Alternative fuels
The Cooperative is based in a state renowned for its coal, which means that it makes more financial sense to pursue coal powered energy systems. However, power generation companies are now looking to reduce their carbon footprint and Ralph Tyree is enthusiastic about explaining the renewable energy sources that EKPC companies are implementing.
“We’re burning kiln-dried sawdust down at the Cooper Station in Burnside. We started that about three months ago. It has a pretty good BTU (British Thermal Unit) content and it also offsets use of fossil fuels, so every ton of that we can get is better for the environment.
“There is also a new type of technology in place at the Spurlock Station, which is called a Circulating Fluidized Bed system. This will burn anything that you want to throw into it and has very low emissions. As a result, we’re evaluating tires as a renewable source of energy.”
Mr Tyree elaborates upon the decision to investigate this type of fuel: “The State of Kentucky generates about 3.5 million tires per year, and the Waste Division wants a place to put these tires, other than landfill. Tires have a higher BTU content than coal, but lower emissions, so this technology can be great for both of us.” Of course there are logistic issues associated with this, but it is something that the company is seriously considering.
In line with this potential, the construction of another plant, identical to the Gilbert Unit, Spurlock Unit # 4, is currently underway. This should be available for commercial use by April 2009 and will add 275MW to the output of the plant.
Customer satisfaction
Decisions to pursue renewable energy sources also come from the customers. Tyree says, “We’re the first in the State of Kentucky to develop landfill gas, which is a renewable energy source. We got into this because our customers asked for it.” He also emphasises that the Cooperative develops these types of projects to generate energy at a price competitive with coal, which was the goal from day one.
There are now five landfill gas plants in Kentucky and they are developing the sixth. These plants only serve 10,000 to 15,000 people, but this is a step forwards. Ralph Tyree, as the manager overseeing these renewable energy projects is keen to point out that the Cooperative has also investigated hydropower and wind farm alternatives and hopes to achieve some success in these areas.
Environmental concerns in power generation processes are also being addressed, with the company adding scrubbers to its plants in order to reduce emissions. Mr Tyree explains: “Over the next five years we’re spending $600 million on environmental controls, so we’re very dedicated. We’re putting low NOX burners in our Dale Power Station and trying to do a better job regarding the environment.”
The Cooperative also operates in association with Envision Energy Services, a unique organization that offers an extra level of service to the 16 distribution systems. Ralph Tyree explains how this works: “Let’s say that a distribution cooperative with industrial or commercial accounts has power quality issues; Envision will send people into the plants and help with infrared tests, energy audits, monitoring and ultrasonic scanning.” This all increases the level of customer service satisfaction and reduces power bills.
EKPC is also a part of the Touchstone Energy group, which operates in 45 US states.
It touches approximately 17 million customers and offers individual cooperatives the opportunity for branding and advertising. The group also sponsors sporting events in local communities, promoting young athletes and offering small high schools access to more opportunities. Ralph Tyree says that it raises awareness of cooperatives in the community and their aims to provide a better quality of life.
The companies’ total revenue was $650 million for 2006, and this is expected to increase to $700 million this year, which is mainly attributable to load growth, rather than increasing profit. However, the Cooperative is growing and continuously planning for a future generation, in which renewable energy sources will become a viable option.