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34 • ROCK products • March 2018 www.rockproducts.com Charleston Stone T he wise use of electricity, Beneficial Electrification, has sparked widespread re-thinking of policies that encourage or mandate less electricity use and promote infra- structure planning. Advancements in electric technologies continue to create new opportunities to use electricity as a substitute for on-site fossil fuels like natural gas, propane, gasoline and fuel oil, with increased efficiency and control. It also offers local economic development and enhances the quality of the product used by the customer. Electrifying industrial and commercial processes is a proven method to help local businesses stay competitive. This case study focuses on an electric cooperative in Illinois and its quarry system member. Electrification of the quarry system reduced the member's costs, enhanced productivity and reliability, and improved its product to open new market opportunities. Coles-Moultrie Electric (CMEC) serves about 9,500 members spread across eight counties in southeast Illinois. The service territory is rural, with a few small cities (e.g., Charleston and Mattoon). More than 8,000 of CMEC's meters are residential, but signif- icant load is spread across 850 small commercial members – as well as a few large commercial members, industrial members and educational facilities. 1 About 60 percent of CMEC's electric sales are residential; the remaining 40 per- cent is spread across commercial, institutional, industrial, and agricultural sectors. 2 Overall load growth has been slow in recent years. Between 2010 and 2016, electric sales increased by about 1.4 percent, which is an average annual growth rate of 0.24 percent. 3 Infla- tion averaged 1.6 percent over this same time period. When electric demand growth does not keep up with increases in costs, utilities are forced to raise rates or cut expenses. Description of Problem/Opportunity CMEC provides electric service to Charleston Stone, a quarry that produces a variety of stone, gravel and aggregate products. The quarry has depended upon a diesel-fired primary crusher that is aging and becoming less reliable. Charleston Stone was aware of the advantages of electric rock crushers and inquired with CMEC about a change in electric service. The co-op was receptive to this discussion, because they saw the possibility to serve their member and benefit the community, while increasing their electric sales. FIGURE 1: CMEC service territory. The stone and aggregate industry is an especially important industry to electric co-ops. Products extracted from quarries are heavy and shipping costs are high, so quarries tend to be located near the customer. The state of Illinois has 188 quarries, more than three-quarters of them in rural areas. 5 Charleston Stone Finds New Energy Coles-Moultrie Electric Helped an Illinois Quarry Reduce Costs, Enhance Productivity and Reliability, and Improve Its Product. By Patrick Keegan