Stanford Report Online



Stanford Report, January 22, 2000
Staff, faculty and students asked to save energy

BY LISA TREI

Faculty, staff and students are being asked to conserve energy at work and in residences -- even though the core campus will not be affected by rolling blackouts because the university has its own power plant.

“As is evidenced by the recent rolling blackouts, there is a need to redouble our efforts to conserve energy in campus operations. Every kilowatt-hour the campus conserves during this critical period increases the amount of power we can provide to PG&E and the general public,” President John Hennessy and Chris Christofferson, associate vice provost for facilities, said in a letter to the campus community.

Steam rises from the campus Cardinal Cogeneration plant, which produces steam, chilled water and twice as much electrical power as the university needs. The plant is owned by a GE subsidiary. photo: L.A. Cicero

The central part of campus is served by the university’s Cardinal Cogeneration plant, which produces steam, chilled water and twice as much electrical power as needed. The plant was commissioned in 1987, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric. The university purchases about 25 megawatts of power from the plant daily and distributes that through its own campus substation. An excess 25 megawatts of electricity is sold by the GE subsidiary to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) for local distribution through its power grid.

Nevertheless, says Christofferson, people living and working on campus should turn off computers, lights, machines and personal heaters when not needed, especially at night. For general information on how to save energy, go to the university’s Energy Management Group website.

The Medical Center, which is within Palo Alto city limits and not supplied by Cardinal Cogen, has its own emergency backup generators. The faculty residential area, however, is supplied by PG&E. To view a downloadable PDF file outlining which parts of campus are supplied by Cardinal Cogen, PG&E and City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU), click here.

Steve Briscombe, the power system manager for Stanford Utilities, said that PG&E customers on campus should call (800) 743-5000 and CPAU customers should call 329-2161 for information or to report a blackout.

According to Christofferson, Stanford has the lowest energy consumption per gross square foot of any research university statewide thanks to an extensive energy conservation plan that started in the late 1980s. “Every year, for about the last five years, we have spent $750,000 to $1 million on a retrofit program,” he said. The program includes, for example, installing more efficient electrical lights and fan systems in buildings.

Christofferson said the power crisis will continue until the state can negotiate long-term energy contracts. “There’s a significant imbalance between supply and demand,” he said. “This is an important wakeup call for us. It’s a perfect time to redouble our efforts to save energy.” To assist with this, Christofferson said, he plans to hire an energy manager for Facilities Operations’ public information program.