Looking forward to a bright future, the city of Ames is investing millions in its electrical production system.The city announced Jan. 16 it will purchase a $13.9 million fuel oil combustion turbine generator sometime during 2004, said Gary Titus, assistant director of electric administration.The demand for electricity is growing at a rate of about two megawatts per year, said Steve Wilson, energy services coordinator. “We’re going to get to the point where we’re not going to have enough capacity to be able to cover peak hours. So it makes sense to install another generator,” he said. Working with the three other generators already in the Ames system, the new unit will produce an extra 20 megawatts of electricity, Titus said. The additional generator will play a key role in making sure enough energy is available for the city during peak summer months, he said.An average household in Ames uses between 700 to 1,000 kilowatts of energy per month. During summer months, the highest levels of electricity are consumed and the city’s system is unable to provide the 112 or so megawatts needed, Titus said.When this happens, the city purchases additional electricity from other power plants it has contracts with through the year 2004, Titus said.”And then in 2005, we’ll put in the combustion turbine to meet demands,” he said.Once the new generator is in place, it will shrink the gap between what the city requires and what it can provide with its overloaded system, Titus said.”In 2005, we’re projecting the unit will meet our needs at that time. And then as our load grows, we’ll buy additional capacity. Right now we’re buying about 5 percent of our needs, but out in 2004 we’ll probably be buying about 15 percent of our needs,” Titus said.Wilson said the amount of energy the city consumes isn’t a problem until the summer months when air conditioners and other appliances are all working simultaneously.”There are only about 67 hours a year that we actually have to have over 100 megawatts for electricity for the city of Ames,” he said.Even though the multimillion dollar turbine may seem expensive, it is actually an ideal addition to the Ames system, Wilson said. “It’s much less expensive to have a fuel oil generator than a large coal fire generator,” he said.Titus also said the new unit will cost only 8 cents or 9 cents per kilowatt hour.To help keep electricity costs down, Wilson said citizens should keep energy conservation on their minds throughout the year. Turning off lights, powering down computers when not in use and lowering the thermostat can have a positive impact on energy costs.”Over time, it keeps rates lower,” he said. “You pay us a lower bill every month, and we are able to avoid buying more expensive energy.”