LOAD CONTROL IRRIGATION SUMMARY
South Central PPD was one of the first utilities in the United States to offer load management to its irrigation customers, offering “off-peak” service in 1968. Today, we have approximately 2,050 irrigation accounts totaling about 104,000 HP. About 1,050 of these irrigation systems totaling about 81,000 HP, are under South Central’s load management program. Irrigators can cut their energy costs by 20 to 30 percent when participating in load management of their irrigation systems.
LOAD CONTROL IRRIGATION PARAMETERS
Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) issues a daily notice as to whether or not there will be Load Control for South Central PPD that day and the expected hours of Load Control. This Load Control notice is typically issued by 8:30 a.m.
A radio announcement on the status of NPPD’s Load Control can also be heard Monday through Saturday at 8:29 a.m. on KRVN Radio (AM 880).
We anticipate these Load Control radio announcements will start about June 1st and will continue through September 1st, but could run past September 1st if necessary. The announcements will be for several Public Power Districts, so listen specifically for the status of South Central PPD for that day.
If a Code Green is announced for the day, it means there will be no load control that day. If a Code Red is announced, it means your irrigation well may be subject to control that day, starting at the time announced. Since 2009, the load control window has been: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. 7 days a week.
Monday through Saturday could see a maximum of 12 hours of control within the 14 hour window. Sundays could see a maximum of 6 hours of control when necessary, with a maximum of 72 control hours for a single calendar week. This means that 6 hours of control on a Sunday would limit the maximum number of control hours to 66 for the rest of the week, Monday through Saturday.
Early release of load control will be broadcast in the evenings on KRVN (AM 880) at 4:59, 5:59, 6:59, 7:59, 8:59 and 9:59. Early release before 4:59 pm will be announced at the :29th and :59th of the hour.
On the days when South Central PPD is controlling our peak electric load (which are the Code Red days), we will monitor our power demand throughout the critical hours and control irrigation wells only when necessary.
Irrigation customers that have signed up for one of our Off-Peak irrigation options are assigned to one of several groups of irrigators. Each group can be individually controlled. This allows us to drop our demand for power in small increments until we reach a desired level of usage, leaving as many irrigation wells on as possible.
If you have questions on our irrigation load management system and procedures, please give South Central PPD a call at 1-800-557-5254 or (402) 225-2351.
LOAD CONTROL ACTIVATION
A black, rectangular control switch is installed on each off-peak irrigation service. This control switch is located either on the panel at the road or on the well motor control panel itself. Load Control to this service is activated by a signal we send over the mesh radio system to this control switch.
Located on the front of the control switch, under a window, are four (4) small lights. The green light indicates power to the unit. If the red light is lit, it means the well is presently under control and the motor contactor will not operate when you toggle the On/Off switch.
If the red light is off, but the contactor still does not operate, the irrigator should check the fuses and the voltage on his side of the meter. If you find nothing wrong, and the contactor still does not operate, you should call us for service.
ENGINEERING CONSULTING SERVICE — IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
Engineering Consulting Service is offered to irrigation customers to help them take advantage of the best irrigation rates. Consulting is only offered to customers with rate questions.
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