Hunter and Huntington Plants recognized for operational excellence

By Patsy Stoddard

Rocky Mountain Power’s Huntington, Hunter and Currant Creek plants have received Generation Knowledge Service Plant Operational Excellence Awards from Navigant, an industry consulting services firm. On Aug. 21, which was also the day of the eclipse there were two award presentations. Hunter Plant hosted a breakfast for their employees. Plant Manager Laren Huntsman said, “We are here to celebrate this award. What you’ve (employees) have done to make the Hunter and Huntington plants what they are today.”
Cindy Crane, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rocky Mountain Power said, “It’s an honor to the employees. This is a special day that has been a long time in coming. You should be very proud of this award in providing operational excellence. The award covers a five year assessment period. There are 105 units in our class size for this award. Our five units took top bill out of 105 units. You’re the reason we are here. You’re the top in running the coal fired power plants.”
Crane praised the plant workers for stepping up to respond to the changing coal market. She said this spring there was negative pricing and some companies were paying people to take power. The local plants have had to adjust to the changing dynamics in the industry. They have learned how to ramp up and to slow down, often in the same day. The utility takes pride in keeping rates low for their customers. The safety team at the power plant is looking to the future. “I want to thank everyone for what you do every day. Our rates are among the lowest in the nation. Low cost power is driving the economy in Utah and other states,” said Crane.
The changing dynamics of the industry has led to more efficiency in the operation of the power plants.
Dale Probasco, managing director of global generation services at Navigant spoke next. He said he worked on Hunter 3 during its construction. He now works for Navigant a consulting firm. They work in all parts of the utility business. They have offices around the world. “We couldn’t be more pleased and happy to present these awards. There are challenges in this industry today more than just a few years ago. You’ve done extremely well. You are truly the top operators in the country.”
Probasco noted the changes in the industry in learning to work with renewables to keep power flowing when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. “The power plants have worked to get better at what they do. There have been many challenges. Probasco said being flexible will allow the coal fired facilities to stay viable. Making adjustments during the ups and downs is vital. He is currently working with a power plant to keep it open. He told them the storage pile of coal is of value to the diversity of power. Power is coming into Arizona that is low cost from wind in California. But, when California needs that power, Arizona will be cut off. He said to also be aware that many of the renewables have been built with subsidies, when those subsidies go away those industries can flounder. Probasco said current challenges will continue into the future.
He described the awards the plants received. The award was established in 2011 to honor power plants that were reliable as well as keeping the resource available. A data base which determined costs and compared power plants over a five year period was used. These Emery County plants were the most reliable in the five year period between 2012-2016. Five years worth of data was used. Awards are given in small and large power plants. The Emery County units won in the small 500 megawatt or smaller division. They were compared against 34 other power plants and 105 other units. The power plants were evaluated in several categories. What was the availability? How reliable was the power plant? What were the outages? Costs were also looked upon as part of the evaluation. Each of the areas of evaluation were assigned a percentage. All factors were taken into consideration including safety. The power plants had to be part of the top half in safety to be considered for the award. Two other power plants in the past had qualified for the award, but were lacking in the safety so they didn’t receive the award. Their managers were told what happened and they used this as an incentive to increase safety programs at their facility.
Probasco explained the winner and a runner up are selected because of the closeness of the two winners. Huntington Power Plant was the winner and Hunter was the runner-up this year. Huntington Plant was in the ninth percentile and Hunter Plant was in the 11th percentile. Currant Creek plant was honored as the top performer for combined-cycle power plants.
“I am at power plants all the time and I really understand the challenges and appreciate what you have done in running the Hunter Plant. It’s not an easy award to win,” said Probasco. He said he was in the Middle East recently and they are building coal fired plants there to diversify their energy profiles. “Coal is a challenge in America, but around the world it is alive and well. Power plants are in the works in Asia too. There are coal fired plants under construction in China,” said Probasco.
Plant Manager Laren Huntsman said, “This awards your efforts during a challenging time in the coal industry. We as a team have stepped up and matched the challenges. These plants are an important part of the community, not just as taxing entities, but we appreciate the living they provide. As part of a team, we challenge each other to be the best we can. You might say, is my little part worth something? but this award is a testimony that your parts make a difference. If you take any out, it’s not the same plant without all the parts.”
Huntsman recognized how safety has improved over the years. They are working to go decades without an incident. Their goal is to send people home safe. The power plant has met the challenges of environmental regulations. They pay attention to details and make sure things are better today than they were yesterday. Huntsman said a lot of people have been with the plants since they were built, some of that knowledge is now being lost as those people retire. New employees are coming into the plants. Methods are in place to operate in an efficient manner. The power plant must continue to improve to strive to be the choice supplier of power. “My job can be challenging, but I couldn’t do it without those behind the scenes doing the work. A lot of stress has been taken away because of what you do and what you’ve done. I thank the plant for allowing me to be a part of this effort,” said Huntsman.
The workers at Huntington plant were treated to a lunch prepared by Jon Judd. The group moved to the Huntington plant where their award was presented to Darrell Cunningham Plant manager. Cunningham said he loves baseball and Yogi Berra was one of his heroes growing up, Berra said, ‘When you come to a fork in the road take it,’ we have come to a lot of forks in the road lately. When you come to a fork in the road then gather together and make a plan. We have 159 employees and what we do here affects them, their families and the community. We have been up against a lot lately. One of the huge issues was the Seeley fire. We had to come together as a plant and a community to solve that huge issue. We have dealt with financial positions and flat budgets. We’ve had to mitigate our costs. We need to use tools to their full life. We’ve had to learn to be flexible in dispatching loads. We used to run 450 megawatts full bore on both units, now it’s common to run anywhere from 100 to 450 daily. We’ve been doing that for the last two years to fit in with the renewables. This award is a great accomplishment. The safety means the most to all of us. No one comes to work with the intention of getting hurt.”
Cummingham said safety has improved dramatically, “The change in the safety focus is something for all to be proud of and the way we worked through the Carbon Plant shut down. We developed a plan to bring all those employees to Huntington and Hunter. It was a complicated plan but we achieved it with no lay offs. Lay-offs hurt. We worked together and it was a great effort. It’s been a great thing for the employees and the company.”
The awards recognize coal-fueled and combined-cycle power plants that have demonstrated excellence in cost and operational management, as well as improved performance and reliability.
“In this time of continual operational and cost pressures in the generation industry, I am amazed at the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the dedicated people operating these plants,” said Probasco, they continue to make them a viable and vital part of providing energy across the United States, and they truly represent the best in our industry.”
Dana Ralston, Vice President of PacifiCorp, was also in attendance along with elected leaders from the surrounding communities.
Rocky Mountain Power provides safe and reliable electric service to more than a million customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. The company works to meet customers’ growing electricity needs while protecting and enhancing the environment. Rocky Mountain Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity providers in the United States.