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Hospital staff and power company find spikes tied to generator tests; county explores energy audit
Summary
Dahl Memorial Hospital power bills have trended upward; staff and Southeast Power identified unusually large demand spikes coinciding with generator tests and recommended an electrical audit and meter review.
Hospital representatives and county officials discussed a recent analysis showing higher electricity usage and isolated high-demand spikes that appear to correlate with generator tests.
Daryl Messersmith, representing the hospital, told commissioners that Southeast Power data showed one extreme demand spike — in April — that drove the month’s bill sharply higher. Messersmith said earlier, smaller demand anomalies also coincided with times the hospital tested its emergency generator. Southeast Power staff observed a transformer making abnormal noise and suggested an electrical assessment.
Messersmith said overall electricity use at the hospital rose roughly 40% compared with 2021 levels. Monthly bills that were previously in the $7,000–$8,000 range have run as high as about $15,000 in recent months; staff warned the county it could reach about $20,000 in peak summer months if trends continue.
County and hospital staff discussed possible causes: improper generator wiring or transfer-switch behavior during tests, a degraded transformer, HVAC control or equipment inefficiency, or a faulty meter. Messersmith said the spike on one April bill matched the day they ran a generator test and that, on other generator-test days, usage sometimes dropped as expected (if the meter read generator output separately) but sometimes spiked.
Southeast Power representatives (Ty and Corey Hasek) provided usage data to the county. Messersmith said he asked the hospital crew to suspend generator tests for several weeks to see whether the spikes stop. Commissioners requested staff contact the companies who installed and service the generator and the meter for an inspection; they also discussed hiring an independent engineer for a building-wide power audit.
Don (generator contractor) and a representative from TW Enterprises were mentioned as contacts for troubleshooting generator and transfer-switch behavior. Commissioners directed staff to seek an engineer or consultant (and to discuss meter replacement or inspection with Southeast Power) and to return with recommendations and cost estimates.
No procurement or repair contract was authorized at the meeting.
