DocumentCode :
3312252
Title :
Power costs reduction measures at Lafarge Whitehall plant
Author :
Rose, Michael P.
Author_Institution :
Lafarge Canada Inc., Montreal, Que., Canada
fYear :
1997
fDate :
20-24 Apr 1997
Firstpage :
89
Lastpage :
95
Abstract :
In 1991, the cement companies in eastern Pennsylvania suffered from a poor economy and strong competition within the marketplace. The Lafarge Whitehall plant was no exception and endeavored to become more profitable through cost reduction. Rigorous analysis of both corporate and cement industry costs revealed that the plant power costs were excessive compared to industry standards. In fact, the plant had the highest power costs of all Lafarge North American plants. This paper gives a history of cost saving measures and results thereof. The two major areas identified for improvement were the power contract and power utilization efficiency. The plant initiated power contract negotiations with Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (PP&L) in 1992, which concluded with a new interruptible power contract in August of that year. The contract guaranteed lower demand and energy rates, yet subjected the customer to power curtailments. With the interruptible contract in place, the various components of the contract were analyzed for additional cost savings. Primary measures taken included production schedule optimization and careful utilization of production equipment during on-peak hours. Diesel generators were installed in 1995 to provide an alternate source of power during curtailments, lessening the burden on the utility to guarantee costly firm demand levels. As a result, the 1996 plant power costs were reduced by 40.6% from 1991 costs
Keywords :
cement industry; contracts; diesel-electric generators; economics; energy conservation; industrial plants; production control; scheduling; standby generators; Lafarge Whitehall plant; Pennsylvania Power and Light Company; cement companies; cement industry costs; corporate costs; cost saving measures; diesel generators; eastern Pennsylvania; interruptible power contract; power contract; power costs reduction; power curtailments; power utilization efficiency; production equipment utilisation; production schedule optimization; Cement industry; Contracts; Costs; History; Job shop scheduling; Milling; Optimal scheduling; Power generation; Power measurement; Production;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Cement Industry Technical Conference. 1997. XXXIX Conference Record., 1997 IEEE/PCA
Conference_Location :
Hershey, PA
ISSN :
1079-9931
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3962-2
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/CITCON.1997.601995
Filename :
601995
Link To Document :
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