Rate Considerations in Electric Glass Melting

With the expanding market for glass, the advent of strict pollution control, and the shortage and increasing cost of natural gas, the interest in electric melting has heightened dramatically in the past few years. Most of this interest to date has centered on the technical aspects such as control, element and furnace design, etc. The factors of power cost in melting are evaluated. A discussion of typical utility rates, an analysis of the electric melting load, and the integration of that load with a normal glass plant load are included. A basis for determining incremental melting costs is established and possibilities for reducing power costs discussed.