Georgia Power's Asset Disposition Operation Delivers Impressive Results

Georgia Power is one Georgia company that goes the extra mile when looking for reuse and recycling options for managing their waste and has the results to prove it. In 1997, Georgia Power generated approximately $12,000,000 in cost from the sale of recyclable materials, donated materials to Georgia schools and non-profit organizations, and diverted 21 million pounds of waste from Georgia's landfills.

What is the key to Georgia Power's success? Dedicated employees, the persistence of Georgia Power's Asset Disposition Team, and a strong corporate commitment to reducing waste are just three factors that contribute to the success. However, the heart of the program is the Asset Disposition Team, which is responsible for coordinating recycling, reuse, and donation of assets in order to obtain a maximum return on investment for the company's assets. This involves a complex interaction of meeting internal requests and needs while providing services to external clients and neighbors; however, the benefits both monetarily and for the company's corporate image far exceed the effort.

Every Georgia Power facility, Southern Company affiliate, and even other utilities send materials to the Asset Disposition facility. Recyclable materials are separated and sent to recyclers. Reusable materials are either redeployed internally, sold to an external customer, donated to a school or non-profit organization, or auctioned to the public. Broken materials are repaired and redeployed or sold. The following describes the primary methods for managing the assets that arrive at the Asset Disposition facility: recycling, repair, and reuse.

Recycling

Many of the items that arrive at the Asset Disposition facility are recyclable, including paper, cardboard, and wood. Figure 1 illustrates the amount of paper, cardboard, and wood collected between 1995 - 1997.

Since both the Asset Disposition and Distribution Operations are located in Forest Park, the trucks which deliver equipment and supplies to the various facilities throughout the state are used to transport the recyclables collected from the facilities back to Forest Park. By back hauling, sending a truck back with goods instead of an empty truck, Georgia Power reduces the number of hauls, thereby saving money on transportation costs. Since the materials are transported to a centralized location, Georgia Power is able to negotiate a better price than the individual facilities based on the quantities.

In addition to these commonly recycled items, Georgia Power also recycles wooden reels. All of the wire for power lines initially goes out to the field on reels. Unavoidably, a small amount of wire is left on the reels in the field. The reels with the residual wire are returned to the Asset Disposition facility. Initially, the residual wire created a problem for finding a recycler. However, Georgia Power found a recycler to come on-site, remove the wire from the reels, and sell the reels back to a wire manufacturer. Georgia Power retains the wire that is removed and adds it to other scrap metals that is sent to a metal recycler. Any broken reels, pallets, and untreated wood are chipped on-site. A vendor collects the wood chips for fuel recovery.

Repair Operation

Some of the items that arrive at the Asset Disposition facility may need to be repaired including, but not limited to, transformers and street lights. Over 12,500 transformers arrive at the Asset Disposition facility each year. Salvageable transformers are repaired and returned to the field for reuse, saving Georgia Power substantially in reduced new purchase costs. Transformers that are not repairable are sold to a company that dismantles the transformer, as per all applicable regulations.

Broken or damaged street light fixtures are returned to the Asset Disposition facility where they are rebuilt. By repairing street light fixtures and returning them to the field for reuse, Georgia Power realizes substantially savings based on purchase costs of new fixtures.

Internal and External Reuse Activities

A significant amount of the items sent to Asset Disposition are in good condition and can be redeployed to the field for reuse, thus, reducing the need to purchase new equipment. Items which can be reused or redeployed into the field include computers, telecommunications equipment (e.g., radios and phones), vehicles, and furniture.

However, if no one within Georgia Power needs the equipment, then the Asset Disposition team either tries to match requests for computers from non-profit organizations and schools or work with brokers to sell the computers or recycle the various components.

Also, Georgia Power works with outside vendors to find market for vehicles and equipment that can not be used or donated. Any surplus remaining that cannot be redeployed, donated, or sold is auctioned to the public. Auctions are held three to four times a year. In 1997, more than 1,500 items were auctioned ranging from vehicles to various types of equipment, generating over $5,000,000 in revenue.

By seeking out optimal solutions other than disposal, Georgia Power gives back to the communities in which they serve by reducing overall operating costs, donating materials and equipment to schools and non-profit organizations, and diverting waste from Georgia's landfills.