Thanks to lobbying by South Carolina electric cooperatives and leadership from the state’s congressional delegation, co-op members will be shielded from federal regulations threatening to undermine a successful energy-conservation program that saves Palmetto State consumers $12 million annually.
Department of Energy standards put in place this year effectively prohibit the manufacture of electric-resistance water heaters holding more than 55 gallons, says Keith Dennis, an energy programs expert with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. What federal regulators failed to recognize is the vital role these large-capacity units play in co-op load-control programs that nationally save 500 megawatts of electricity each year.
To remedy the situation, a coalition of co-ops in 35 states—led by South Carolina—generated the bipartisan support needed to push the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 through a gridlocked Congress. Signed into law on April 30, the legislation creates a new category of grid-enabled electric water heaters to be produced exclusively for utility load-control programs, Dennis says.
“The legislation protects the co-op water-heater program by creating a category of products that won’t be mandated away by the government,” he says. “It wouldn’t have gotten done without the leadership of South Carolina. We were able to band together and get this passed for the good of everybody.”
South Carolina’s congressional delegation came out in force to help ensure passage of the law, says John Frick, vice president for government relations for The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. “Every single office pushed hard as this bill came down to the wire, and Congressmen Joe Wilson and Mick Mulvaney both reached out to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the waning moments to help seal the deal,” Frick says.
Mulvaney notes that the efficiency act was one of the few bills capable of earning bipartisan support.
“Getting a bill passed through Congress is not an easy feat, but this issue was extremely important to South Carolina,” Mulvaney says. “I’m proud to have played an integral part in getting this legislation passed, as this is only the 11th piece of legislation to be signed by the president this year."
In South Carolina, more than 120,000 co-op-served homes have load-control switches on large-capacity water heaters, says David Logeman, director of power supply at Central Electric Power Cooperative. During peak demand hours—times when the cost of power skyrockets—the co-ops can cut electricity to these heaters, lowering the wholesale cost of power and saving all S.C. consumers $12 million annually in the form of lower electricity rates. Traditional large-capacity units are vital to making the program work, because they hold enough hot water to meet a family’s needs during the control period and they cycle back on quickly and efficiently.
“Having the ability to obtain large-capacity water heaters is going to enable to the program to go forward,” Logeman says. “It’s going to keep us in the game.”