As published in the February 1, 2012 Toledo Business Journal
Randy Frame
Toledo Edison
Toledo Edison has key role in regional development
Toledo Business Journal recently interviewed Toledo Edison regional president Randy Frame. He shared the following thoughts.
Toledo Business Journal: Can you discuss the current construction project at Davis-Besse and the impact on the economy and jobs in our area from this investment by your company?
Randy Frame: Last December, Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station began operating at 100% power following a planned installation of a new reactor head. The three-month, $115 million project ensures the safe and reliable operation of the plant while delivering a significant boost to northwestern Ohio’s economy. In addition to the plant’s 700 regular employees, the project employed approximately 1,000 contractors and supplemental personnel such as iron workers, electricians, and plumbers.
According to the Ottawa County Visitors Bureau, an outage, such as the reactor head replacement project, adds about $3 million to the local economy as workers stay in area hotels, eat in local restaurants, and frequent area stores. In the spring, additional dollars will flow into the Toledo economy when Davis-Besse’s reactor unit will be refueled.
Construction is also being completed on a new emergency response facility at the Lindsey Service Center in Lindsey, Ohio. The new facility will support activities to protect the public health and safety in the unlikely event of an emergency at Davis-Besse by using advanced equipment to monitor environmental conditions and communicate with State and local emergency representatives.
Beyond 2012, Davis-Besse’s steam generators will be replaced to enhance the plant’s reliability and support an expanded lifespan. The $600-million capital investment will ensure Davis-Besse remains an important contributor to the economy in northwest Ohio. These projects also will mean additional temporary jobs over and above the plant’s full-time employees, many of whom reside in Lucas County.
TBJ: The State of Ohio has legislation in place that will require a significantly higher amount of electricity generation from alternative energy sources. Can you explain this legislation and Toledo Edison’s plans concerning these changes?
RF: Senate Bill 221 passed in 2008. It was landmark energy legislation that set an aggressive course toward increasing the amount of electricity generated from alternative energy sources, including renewables. Under the measure, 25% of the electricity sold by utilities or competitive suppliers within Ohio must be generated from alternative energy sources by the year 2025. At least 12.5% must be generated from renewable energy resources, including wind, hydro, biomass, and at least 0.5% solar. The remainder can be generated from advanced energy resources, including nuclear, clean coal, and certain types of fuel cells. In addition, at least one half of the renewable energy used must be generated at facilities located in Ohio. We are committed to this standard, and thus far we are in a strong position to meet these ambitious requirements.
Our subsidiary, FirstEnergy Solutions, which owns the company’s generation plants has purchased almost 14 megawatts of Ohio-sited solar projects currently under contract in the Toledo area. FirstEnergy Solutions purchased the Solar Renewable Energy Credits produced from a nearly 10-megawatt array at the Campbell Soup facility in Napoleon, Ohio. FirstEnergy also has a strong track record for support of renewable energy, including more than 500 megawatts of wind power under long-term contracts. This includes an agreement to purchase the output of a 100-megawatt wind farm under development in Van Wert County, in western Ohio. This facility is the first large scale wind operation in Ohio to begin construction.
TBJ: Can you discuss the competitive position of Toledo Edison service areas in our region in terms of our ability to compete for major new economic development projects?
RF: Through our parent company, FirstEnergy Corp., Toledo Edison takes an active role in the communities we serve. Our future – and success – is tied to the people we do business with, the industries we help grow and places where we do business. We take pride in our company’s longstanding reputation for economic development. And Toledo Edison has been the leader of all 10 of our operating companies in terms of attracting new capital investment.
During 2011, the majority of attraction, expansion, and retention project activity occurred in the automotive, agriculture, and transportation industries. Toledo Edison worked with 23 companies that invested more than $1 billion in northwest Ohio, and created or retained nearly 7,000 jobs. Our FirstEnergy team provides technical assistance with electric technologies, capacity upgrades, and energy efficiency initiatives to facilitate business growth.
Our team also works very closely with the Port Authority of Toledo / Lucas County and has provided $2.5 million over three years to support economic development and job retention projects through an agreement with The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA).
As a utility, we are powering the future economic growth of the region by supporting Toledo’s alternative energy industries. Being strategically located on Lake Erie between the US and Canada also affords ideal freight movement with the adjacent rail and waterways.
The role FirstEnergy plays is integral to all of these industries, providing the power to ensure products are manufactured, crops are grown, and the distribution of those products is met. In fact, in 2011, FirstEnergy was named the Top Utility for Economic Development in the Country by Site Selection magazine.
TBJ: Can you discuss Toledo Edison programs aimed at energy conservation?
RF: We are dedicated to meeting Ohio’s goal of reducing electricity usage by more than 22% by 2025 and reducing peak demand by more than seven percent in 2018. FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities, including Toledo Edison, offer a portfolio of programs for residential and commercial customers. We even provide retroactive rebates for investments in energy efficiency to commercial and industrial customers who have already made energy efficiency improvements.
Commercial and mercantile customers can take advantage of incentives on lighting, HVAC, and motors and drives. Residential and small commercial customers of FirstEnergy’s utilities also can save energy and money with rebates on HVAC systems, lighting, appliances, and home energy audits. Savings start upfront with rebates and continue month after month with reduced energy usage and increased efficiency.
Through our partner, JACO, we provide appliance recycling services. The program helps residential customers save money by removing older, less efficient refrigerators, freezers, and room air conditioners, reducing customers’ overall demand for electricity. Units are recycled in an environmentally responsible manner. For a limited time, customers receive $50 for recycling a working refrigerator or freezer.
By visiting www.energysaveohio.com, customers can register to access the home energy analyzer. Once customers register, they will see what items in their home are the major sources of energy use and learn how to save energy and money.
Participants in the Easy Cool Rewards Program, administered by Honeywell, receive a professionally-installed programmable thermostat (a $250 value) that can help customers reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 15%.
Customers can also build an energy efficient home and enjoy long-term energy savings.
TBJ: Can you share an outlook for electric utility costs for Toledo Edison commercial and industrial customers over the next several years?
RF: Customers are experiencing some of the lowest retail generation prices in recent years. And current trends indicate that these prices may remain in this price range for the foreseeable future. If customers are not already shopping with an alternative supplier, we encourage them to shop to see if lower generation pricing is available.
TBJ: Are there any other issues that you would like to discuss?
RF: I’d be remiss if I didn’t emphasize Toledo’s Edison’s unwavering commitment to safety – the safety of our employees, our communities, and our customers. It’s an essential component of all business activities – a core value. To meet these goals, we dedicate ourselves to achieving world-class safety results.
These efforts are paying off. In January, two of our local operations celebrated significant milestones. Our Line Services Center in Lindsey, Ohio, marked a decade without a lost time or disabling accident, and more than eight years without a single Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable incident – a remarkable achievement in light of the hazards utility line workers face each day. And recently I attended an event recognizing our Toledo Edison Engineering Group based in Holland, Ohio, for maintaining an accident-free workplace for more than 12 years. Our Meter Services, Substation Services, Wauseon Line Services Center, and Transmission Lines Services areas have also worked between two and five years with no OSHA recordable incidents. I’m very proud of the Toledo Edison employees and their commitment to working safely.
And our electric service is more reliable. The System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) is a reliability indicator as it relates to distribution of electricity to the local customer. Since 2009, Toledo Edison has ranked in the top 25% of utilities surveyed in the country for SAIDI. That means Toledo Edison is operating more effectively and efficiently with fewer outages and interruptions amongst peer utilities.
Toledo Edison will always be part of the fabric of northwest Ohio, beyond providing power. In 2011, Toledo Edison employees, FirstEnergy and the FirstEnergy Foundation supported health and human services initiatives by giving back to the community. Together they contributed nearly half a million dollars in the greater Toledo area, including annual pledges to United Way of more than $250,000. Toledo Edison employees are also the reigning champions in the Harvest for Hunger competition among FirstEnergy electric companies, raising more than $50,000 over the last five years.
Through “Powering our Communities,” FirstEnergy Solutions provided community grants totaling $5.4 million in 2010 and long-term energy savings for the approximately 200,000 members of the governmental aggregation group. These long-term contracts are estimated to save customers more than $70 million over nine years.
For more than a century, Toledo Edison has been serving this region and I, along with our team of employees, live and work in this area. We take pride in everything we do to ensure safe, reliable service every day for our friends and neighbors – our customers.