February 11 , 2008 -The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee (EUOC) met on Feb. 11 in Brownsburg, Ind. Chris Williams, committee chair, opened the meeting and welcomed the attendees. The committee reviewed the scheduled EUOC sessions for AISTech 2008, finalized the session chairs, and revised their Call for Papers topics for AISTech 2009. The Energy Achievement Award Subcommittee reported on the status of that award’s nominations. The committee agreed to present the award to Timken Steel. EUOC officer nominations were discussed because of the upcoming elections in May. The current vice chair, Peter Harschnitz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., will assume the chair position, and the current papers chair, Eugene Arnold of ArcelorMittal, will assume the vice chair position. The committee requested a volunteer to accept the nomination of papers chair, and Chris Birkbeck of Nucor Steel agreed. The committee reviewed and accepted their current mission statement. The current status of the AIST/AISI committee integration was given by Eugene Arnold. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 6 during AISTech 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

October 1-2 , 2007 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee (EUOC) held a meeting Oct. 1–2 in Canton, Ohio. Chair Chris Williams of Rad-Con Inc. welcomed everyone to the meeting, and papers chair Eugene Arnold led the review of abstracts in order to develop EUOC technical sessions for AISTech 2008. The committee plans to hold a six-paper session on Tuesday afternoon and a six-paper session on Wednesday afternoon at AISTech 2008. Chairs were selected for each session, and the committee planned to meet on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Bloom Engineering made an excellent presentation on low-NOx and regenerative burner systems. The meeting concluded with plant tours of Timken’s Gambrinus and Harrison facilities. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 11–12, 2008, at Nucor’s plant in Crawfordsville, Ind.

May 8, 2007 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee (EUOC) met in Indianapolis, Ind., at AISTech 2007 on May 8. Peter Harschnitz of Dofasco Inc. welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced two new members, Mike Shay and Jim Feese from Hauck Manufacturing. The new officers for 2007–2008 were elected: Chris Williams of RAD-CON Inc. is the new chair, Mr. Harschnitz is the new vice chair, and Eugene Arnold of ArcelorMittal is the new papers chair. A revised mission statement was discussed, proposed and accepted as: “To promote safe, environmentally responsible, cost-effective and efficient energy technology in the production of iron and steel. We will accomplish this through the facilitation of training, technical presentations and the exchange of energy-related information.” Arvind Thekdi led an informative discussion on benchmarking energy use in steel processing, and Dave Velegol gave an interesting talk about a Canadian report on climate change. The EUOC presented Mr. Harschnitz with a plaque for their appreciation of his leadership and service to the EUOC as chair this past year. The next meeting is scheduled for Oct 1–2 in Canton, Ohio, and will include a tour of The Timken Co.’s Harrison plant.

February 12-13, 2007 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee (EUOC) met in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 12–13, 2007. Peter Harschnitz of Dofasco Inc. is the chair of this committee. The committee has 43 members, including the newest member, Ray Wright of Nucor Steel–Hertford County. The committee reviewed its session scheduled for AISTech 2007 and decided to change the panel discussion title to “Energy Outlook and the Steel Industry.” For the panel discussion, moderator John Stubbles will invite experts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and experienced staff and consultants from major integrated and electric furnace steel producing companies to lead discussions on what future energy price and supply trends will mean for iron and steel processes and plant utilities. Audience participation will be encouraged. After a lively discussion, the committee agreed on focus topics for its portion of the AISTech 2008 Call for Papers. The focus topics are: reheat furnace energy and combustion issues, and boiler and power plant issues. The outline of an Energy Achievement Award was circulated and discussed. It was agreed to include the award outline in this issue of Iron & Steel Technology. The committee was treated to a tour of Georgia Institute of Technology’s Ben Zin Combustion Laboratory. Professor Ben Zin gave a very interesting lecture regarding the lab’s activities and then explained his and his colleagues’ experiments.

September 18-19, 2006 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee met in Burns Harbor, Ind., on Sept. 18–19. The first order of business was to begin planning for sessions at AISTech 2007. The group reviewed relative abstracts and developed their sessions. They also identified potential topics and participants for a round table discussion. An update was provided on the Energy Achievement Award, with continued discussion on the implementation plan and the timeline. A review of the AISTassociation-level awards was presented, along with a discussion on potential nominees. An informal discussion followed on best practices, and the attendees were asked to consider topics they would like to cover in future meetings. A tour of Mittal Steel USA – Burns Harbor was held Sept. 19.

May 3, 2006 - On May 3 in Cleveland, Ohio, during AISTech 2006, the Energy and Utilities Operating Committee held a lunch meeting. After an update and discussion regarding the AISTech 2006 conference and exhibition, the committee unanimously approved the retention of the current officers in their respective positions. The committee then discussed the move of the Energy and Utilities Operating Committee into the Safety and Environment Technology Division, which would be renamed the Safety, Energy and Environment Technology Division. The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee will sponsor an Energy Improvement Award upon approval by the Technology Division and the AIST Awards and Recognitions Committee. The committee’s next meeting will be Sept. 18–19, 2006, and will include a tour of the Mittal Steel USA – Burns Harbor facility.

February 13-14, 2006 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee assembled on Feb. 13–14, 2006, in Norfolk, Va., for their winter meeting. The EUOC will sponsor the energy and utilities technical session at AISTech 2006 on Wednesday afternoon, May 3, at the Cleveland Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The AIST Energy Achievement Award was approved by Technology Division X and will be submitted for board approval. Committee members discussed trends in purchasing power and deregulation, as well as the pros and cons of pulse-firing versus oscillating-firing burners and some alternatives to controlling NOx. Members discussed utilizing new technologies and determining when they are cost-effective to implement. To conclude the meeting, a tour of Nucor Steel–Hertford County was coordinated by Tori Holt. The EUOC will meet at AISTech on Wednesday, May 3 in Cleveland.

September 19-20, 2005 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee conducted a meeting in Warrendale, Pa., on Sept. 19–20. The meeting featured a PHAST (Process Heating Assessment and Survey Tool) seminar, provided in conjunction with the Department of Energy. Dave Engle and Arvind Thekdi led the seminar, which was geared toward using the PHAST programming tool in the steel industry. The nominee for the Energy Achievement Award was sent for approval to Technology Division X in consideration for a Technology Division award. The committee discussed the format for technical sessions at AISTech 2006. The committee plans to have a round table discussion on topics dealing with energy efficiency at the conference. The next meeting is planned for Feb. 6, 2006, at the Nucor Steel – Hertford facility, Cofield, N.C.

May 9, 2005 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee met in Charlotte, N.C., on May 9 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Members reviewed the presentations at AISTech 2005 and discussed several targeted topics for AISTech 2006. The next committee meeting will be held at AIST headquarters in Warrendale, Pa., and will include the PHAST training program.

January 10, 2005 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee met on January 10, 2005 at AIST Headquarters in Warrendale, PA for their winter meeting. Members held elections for the 2005-2006 operating committee officers. Peter Harschnitz was nominated Chair, Larry Rich was nominated Vice Chair and Chris Williams was nominated Papers Chair. All nominations were passed unanimously by the committee. The AISTech 2005 technical sessions were reviewed and the EUOC will host the Energy and Utilities Session on Monday afternoon. Topics for AISTech 2006 were discussed and will be explored further at the next committee meeting to be held in May at AISTech 2005. The committee had discussions on the short, intermediate and long term solutions to energy cost savings and the environmental related issues. The fall meeting is scheduled for September 19, 2005 and will feature a full day of PHAST training.

September 16, 2004 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee congregated at AISTech 2004 on Sept. 16 at AISTech 2004. The committee reviewed the final draft of the AIST Energy Achievement Award, and members made final contributions to the document. The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee has requested that Technology Division X, Project and Plant Management, be renamed to reflect their participation in the division. The Board of Directors will decide if the proposed name, Project and Energy Management, is acceptable. Paper chairs were elected for AISTech 2005, and the deadlines for abstracts were reviewed. The group also discussed the potential for energy saving from fan optimization. The next meeting is scheduled for January 2005 at AIST headquarters.

August 17, 2004 - The Energy Achievement Award Subcommittee of the Energy and Utilities Operating Committee held a meeting on Aug. 17 at AIST headquarters in Warrendale, Pa. The meeting was called to discuss the final draft of the AIST Energy Achievement Award. Members contributed in person, as well as via conference call. The final draft of the document was reviewed, and minor changes were recorded and implemented. The subcommittee planned to revise the document and present it to the Energy and Utilities Operating Committee at the next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 16 at AISTech. The subcommittee plans to give its first award in 2006.

June 21, 2004 - The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee held their meeting on June 21 near Chicago, Ill. The committee finalized a mission statement and approved a motion to request that the Project and Plant Management Technology Division be renamed to Project and Energy Management. Gas Technology Institute (GTI) sponsored company presentations on some of the latest steel mill application technologies currently under development. A tour of the facilities followed, during which working models of the presentations were on display for the committee members. The committee will meet on Thursday, Sept. 16 at AISTech 2004 in Nashville.