Industrial operations have historically focused on improving performance on the process
side, but improving the performance of utility systems (steam, power, fuel, and water)
that support the industrial process is often a much lower priority, and in some cases,
unfortunately, it is forgotten entirely. But in many cases, significant improvement and
ongoing savings can be delivered through a structured approach to utility system energy
management. For example, a refining company in the United States has captured upward
of $25,000,000 in savings with a return of $2 per year for every $1 originally invested in
such systems.
Utility systems must provide the heat and power required by the industrial process at
all times. The safety and reliability of this supply is paramount. Optimizing the cost of
these systems is accomplished through adjusting manually controlled elements without
affecting regulatory controls, such as steam header pressure controllers or horsepower
control for steam turbines in process service.
Since utility systems are not the focus of industrial process production, these
systems are often lacking in metering, and this can lead to a significant lack of realtime
measurement information available to the operators who are charged with manipulating
manual set points to maximize efficiency and minimize cost. As a result of limited