Inco scores on Powerplay: employee-empowering programs have saved mining giant millions in uneccessary energy consumption.

Sudbury -- Inco Ltd.'s success in using energy wisely did not come from new technology. It was a result of the company's employees adopting new attitudes and ideas.

At the September Ontario Mining Association (OMA) conference held in Greater Sudbury, Ontario Chief Energy Conservation Officer Peter Love presented Inco's energy engineer, Stephanie Oatway, with an award recognizing the company's efforts in reducing energy consumption.

Oatway says the company's success did not come from new computer advancements or cutting-edge, engineering technology.

It comes from "attitudes and ideas."

In the 1980s, Inco entered into an efficiency project called "Turn it Off Turn it Down."

Two men in the energy department along with a team of coordinators from various plants and mines embarked on an efficient lighting program as well as a motor program that has saved the company millions.

In the 1990s, Inco took advantage of incentives from Ontario Power Generation and Ontario Hydro by installing motion sensors for lighting and developing a program that compensates for extra electricity usage through processes such as ventilation, compressed air, hoisting and tramming ore.

The last quantum leap occurred in 2001 with Powerplay--Take Charge of Energy. The initiative generated over 650 energy conservation ideas from employees, who knew where the savings were. Since then, an estimated 80 ideas have been implemented, with another 90 under analysis. This successful project has meant less energy use in spite of the increasing challenges presented by mining at greater depths. The project's goal was to identify $2.7 million worth of savings in a three-month pilot period at the Copper Cliff plant.

"The actual figure was $9.7 million worth of savings in the pilot period alone," Oatway says.

Inco is now in the process of growing Powerplay into an energy smart program for the smelter.

It really is all about accountability, she says. People who chose to make the difference. Public commitment and constant communication have to be priorities. When upper management tells employees energy savings is a priority, they assign goals and the accountability for achieving them, Oatway says.

"The people become engaged. Powerplay is not so much a program as it is a philosophy," she says.

Work teams at the Stobie Mine proved this summer that their two-year project is a success.

Pumping water from a mine is a daily occurrence. But the team knew that pumping water at off-peak hours would generate to substantial savings.

Dams and storage were created in the mine to keep water contained. This gave them the ability to be selective on when they pumped out. The team took advantage of evenings and weekends to offload their water supply.

"They pumped about 90 per cent at off-peak hours in May and increased that to 100 per cent in June. Their energy bill was reduced by $25,000 a month. That is about a 40 per cent reduction," Oatway says.

To extract more savings, the Stobie team stored water for 50 days, taking thousands of kilowatt-hours off the power grid and over $100,000 off the energy bill.

"They have begun pumping this fall when prices are lower and consumption is down," she says.

Creighton Mine has also heard the call for reduced energy. Doug O'Connor and his team have answered it.

To bring clean air into the mine the company has to bring in a $4-million ventilation system, a cost that is twice as much as any other mine because of its depth. It makes it an ideal candidate for the ventilation-on-demand technology. The new technology identifies where ventilation is required, at what volume and in what capacity.

The up-front cost is approximately $150,000, but can save $210,000 on one level alone.

Energy issues are systemic, deeply rooted with far reaching implications that have taken years to surface, according to Mary Ellen Richardson, vice president corporate affairs, Ontario Power Authority.

"We each have to step up to the plate in our own way with our own solutions if we ever want to fix the problem," Richardson says.

Inco's Powerplay program will be taken to other industrial players to determine whether some or all the strategies can be implemented.

www.inco.com

www.powerauthority.on.ca

By KELLY LOUISEIZE

Northern Ontario Business