Whether an account is established for a studio apartment or a large-scale computer chip manufacturer, Clark Public Utilities is responsible for delivering its customers affordable, reliable and high-quality electricity.
To make that possible, the utility built a sophisticated network of carefully planned grid infrastructure to ensure its customers are safely supplied with the power they need. After all, each individual in the broad array of Clark County residents and businesses relies on electricity to navigate their daily lives and operations.
But sometimes an account’s demand for power exceeds what their connection to the grid was designed to handle. When that happens, it poses a serious threat to the safety of that customer’s and their neighbor’s properties.
Those customers create what’s known as a high-density load, meaning they use large quantities of electricity in small spaces and operate at close to their maximum demand most of the time. That type of use pushes their electrical panel to its limits, risks setting the customer’s electrical service on fire and risks neighborhood brownouts.
There are several ways a customer’s demand can become a high-density load, but perhaps the most common are indoor grow operations and powerful computer server networks typically associated with mining digital cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin.
Those operations use roughly mailbox-sized computers in networks that easily scale up in a small footprint simply by adding machines. The owners only make money when these computers are operating, so they’re almost never shut down. The computers generate massive amounts of heat that must be addressed. So, the account’s energy demands are compounded by a large air conditioning system.
Something similar happens with indoor grow operations. Growers sometimes use dozens of high-power bulbs that are left on for hours at a time. That creates heat and humidity that has to be cleared with cooling and fan systems, and the energy use adds up.
“These operations can spring up anywhere. We’re interfacing with folks who think they can do cryptocurrency mining at home because they understand how these computers work,” said Bart Hansen, a Clark Public Utilities key accounts manager. “What they don’t understand is there’s a real potential to overwhelm their home’s 200-amp service. And the same is true with growing a large number of any type of plants indoors.”
Warning signs
Fortunately, these types of loads do not occur regularly. But, when power consumption reaches those levels, the home’s electrical service begins to act more like a fuse and burns out.
“When that happens the insulation on the wiring will at the very least melt, but will likely burn,” Hansen said. “That’s a warning sign you could burn your house or your neighbor’s house down.”
There are many other tools that can be used in a home that will demand a lot of power, such as welding equipment, but their demands occur in short bursts, not sustained infrastructure-imperiling draws.
If someone is operating a high-density load, they might not have to move their operation, but they and their neighbors will benefit if they upgrade their connections to withstand the higher energy demands. By working with the Key Accounts managers at the utility, they could even get a lower electricity rate depending on amount of ongoing usage.
“We want to work with customers who have these types of loads because we want a safe interconnection,” Hansen said. “It’s not just about that customer’s safety, it’s about the adjacent customers and property owners’ safety and power reliability, as well.”
To be connected with a Key Accounts manager, commercial customers are encouraged to call 360-992-3000. The same is true for residential customers who have dramatically ramped up energy use. Give the utility a call — Customer Service is available 24 hours a day — to help ensure the system stays safe and stable for all customers.
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
