Gig Is Big in Wilson

Wilson’s Gig East Exchange grows big ideas for tomorrow’s innovators

Known as Eastern North Carolina’s Innovation Hub, the Gig East Exchange is a venture of the City of Wilson and several key community partners to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and community connection. As a physical space, the Exchange will welcome business professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and the greater community to connect, collaborate, and innovate. The space will be home to coworking, entrepreneurial accelerator programs, and events including the quarterly Gig East Meet-Up series.  

Darren Smith, Manager of the Gig East Exchange, shared his excitement for what lies ahead with the space in a recent video. Smith’s enthusiasm is palpable as he explains how the Exchange “is more than just a building.” He said it is a collaborative space for informal meetings, speaker presentations, and community-sponsored events that help promote entrepreneurship, ideation, inclusion, and economic growth.

A comfortable environment and a place to cultivate opportunity

Located in the heart of Downtown Wilson, the Gig East Exchange will offer many amenities that will foster innovation and cultivate opportunity. As important as any is the amenity of proximity. It’s far too often that ideas don’t make it past the conceptual stage because people with great ideas are unable to cross-pollinate and turn those ideas into opportunity. Smith wants to change that and has already begun bringing people from Wilson and across the Greater Triangle Region and Eastern North Carolina  together through events like the September’s Gig East Meet-Up during which a regional audience had a chance to learn from and network with experts from Barton College, Wilson Community College, the Upper Coastal Plains Council of Government, Wilson Academy of Applied Technolo, ECU, and  UNCW.

Sign up for news and event updates

Stay up to date on the progress of the Gig East Exchange, and once it’s opened, plan to stop by for a cup a meet-up, some coworking, or a cup of coffee and some ideation with your team. In the meantime, please learn more about our quarterly meet-up series and sign up for the Gig East Newsletter at Gigeast.com.

What Really Goes on in a Manufacturing Facility?

In North Carolina, manufacturers account for over 19 percent of the state’s output and employ over 10 percent of the workforce. With all this manufacturing happening, have you ever wondered what goes on in a manufacturing facility?

Take a walk with us through a locally grown Wilson company, 3C Store Fixtures. Theirs is a story of a small company starting off in a small town that grows exponentially – it now occupies a 400,000 square foot, highly technical manufacturing facility that turns out products sold around the globe.

How did that happen in Wilson, NC?

Crafting Its Way Around the World

In 1975 Tony Daniel and Randy Everton, the first 3C partners, started the company in Wilson as Carolina Cabinet Company selling residential cabinetry to local buyers. They produced quality cabinetry that got the attention of some rather large companies. The owners got their first big break with Lowe’s Home Improvement, an opportunity to be in 200 stores for commercial retail fixtures.

As a result, their work became known throughout the industry and they obtained more and more clients. Mike Jones, 3C President, emphasized that 3C now sells to countries all over the world.

Jones explained the range of retail interiors products from fashion store design, makeup store display fixtures, electronics displays, office furniture, marine retail floor spaces, luxury spa interiors, and ultra modern European wax centers.

Jones said that “3C specializes in the development of innovative retail interiors” and is inspired by their client’s brand identity.

3C is more than a business; their 100+ employees form a group comprised of product engineers, industrial engineers, graphic designers, project managers, and traffic management experts.

In the past, Jones explained, the manufacturing facility hosted the typical table saws, hand routers, and machine tools. Look at the 3C floor today and you’ll see fiber optic links to floor machines and technology integrated in every aspect of design through production. Every person on the 3C shop floor is an expert in the computer-assisted machinery.

Designing a Better Tomorrow

Not only is the equipment on the floor integrated with the latest high technology, the products that 3C designs and produces are also embedded with technology features that can make you shake your head in awe.

For example, its “modern take on the phone booth” is something special. While today’s offices are often open spaces and lead to little privacy, 3C has developed an office phone booth to handle private moments that automates everything from lighting in the booth, to flowing just the right amount of cool or warm air in the booth, and even making the glass opaque for that needed privacy.

It’s a reflection of the work they continually do for clients who expect technology embedded in their fixtures, displays, check-out counters and office furniture.

3C recently finished design work for a well-known retail store where the owners wanted a modern experience where customers could check-out themselves. 3C designed the check-out counters for non-human operations, including LED lighting that is timed to occur on different buying conditions, and technology that leads the customer easily through the experience.

Designing Ecommerce Even for Mailboxes

David Jones, 3C New Business Development, explained that customers want integrated technologies in their products. They designed retail mailbox fixtures, yet that was just part of the project. He cited an example of how customers can purchase items, receive a code after their purchase, go to their local shipment or package office, and retrieve the purchased item from a mailbox accessible only with the unique code that they got.

Visit 3C’s online gallery

3C Store Fixtures is a story of a successful small, local business turned into an internationally recognized enterprise. Today, 3C Store Fixtures is owned by, Carolyn B. Daniel.

Check out the range of innovative retail interiors in the 3C gallery: http://3c-inc.net/?page_id=24.

You can read about their unique capabilities at their website 3c-inc.net.

Richard Worsinger Appointed Treasurer of the
APGA Board of Directors

Washington, D.C. (July 31, 2019) –The American Public Gas Association (APGA) has named Richard Worsinger, Director of Wilson Energy for the City of Wilson, N.C., as the Treasurer of its Board of Directors.

Mr. Worsinger was elected during the APGA Annual Meeting in Stowe, Vt.  APGA is a national, not-for-profit association of over 700 publicly-owned local distribution systems in 37 states.  APGA is the only trade association that solely represents the interests of public natural gas systems at the federal legislative and regulatory level. The following statement can be attributed to APGA President and CEO Bert Kalisch.

 “Mr. Worsinger brings to the APGA Board many years of experience working in the natural gas industry.  With his management skills and vast understanding of the issues facing natural gas utilities, Mr. Worsinger represents an important element of APGA’s leadership.  His leadership ability and knowledge of natural gas distribution utilities will serve our members and industry well.

“With the many current natural gas issues being discussed in Congress, the administration and federal agencies, public natural gas systems are presented with numerous challenges and opportunities. Our current supply projection provides our country with a unique opportunity to utilize our domestic natural gas resources to reduce our energy dependence, increase overall energy efficiency, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. This is best done by both accommodating the greater direct-use of natural gas and putting more natural gas vehicles on the road.  Mr. Worsinger understands the issues we face and APGA looks forward to his leadership to meet these challenges and address the needs of natural gas consumers.”

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APGA is the national association of municipally and publicly-owned local distribution systems. There are about 1,000 public gas systems serving more than 6 million customers. These public gas utilities are not-for-profit retail distribution entities that are owned by, and accountable to, the citizens they serve. They include municipal gas distribution systems, public utility districts, county districts, and other public agencies that have natural gas distribution facilities.

It’s been said that “failing to prepare means you are preparing to fail.” When it comes to natural disasters like hurricanes, tornados, and wind storms, preparation is key. While it is impossible to anticipate everything that will happen during and after a natural disaster, being ready for one can help tremendously. 

Wilson Energy prides itself on is preparedness, maintenance, and responsiveness in the midst of natural disasters. Their number one priority during times of crisis is to be there for the residents of Wilson in times of need.

“Understanding our grid is key,” says Grant Roberson, Key Accounts Manager for Wilson Energy. “What we do through the year, long before any storm, is constantly look at the preparedness around our lines. We keep an eye out for any type of potential hazard, like trees that are older, ones that need to be removed, and the replacing of older infrastructure.”

Preventative maintenance is important. While some damage is inevitable, other types of damage can be prevented if the right measures are taken.Up-to-date systems, secured power lines, and cleared debris are just a few ways Wilson Energy minimizes the storm’s impact before it actually arrives.

When a storm does come through, Wilson Energy crews go into a proactive stance, prepping manpower and resources that may be needed. Simply put, they hope for the best while anticipating the worst. While making sure not to over-prepare, they are also able to adjust and reevaluate the needs that arise in real time. Additionally, the City of Wilson is unique in the sense that their utility and energy crews are local to Wilson, making resources more responsive and readily available.

“Our value proposition is that we are in the community. We work in the community, we live in the community, and we’re invested in the community. When our customers are without power, so are we. This the core value of Public Power,” Roberson says.

Wilson Energy’s preparedness and responsiveness also uniquely positions them to lend a hand outside of the city when called upon. It’s not uncommon for them to make crews available to other cities once they feel that Wilson  residents have been taken care of.

“During Hurricane Florence, once we had our area stable, we immediately said, ‘We’re available’ and had crews that went to different areas to help,” Roberson says. “That’s really what Wilson Energy is known for — being a true partner in times of need. We always put our community first and make sure they are safe, but as soon as we’re ready, we immediately go out and help.”

During a natural disaster, communication is crucial. That’s why Wilson Energy encourages customers and neighbors to interact and communicate their needs. Features like Wilson Energy power outage alerts that occur in real time via text and “Report an Outage” options on the website keep everyone in the loop. 

Simple ways you can prepare for a natural disaster:

• Make sure any windows and glass are secured

• Store any loose objects (such as outdoor furniture, toys, etc.) in a garage or shed

• If you have a generator, make sure that it’s safe and up-to-date

• Get connected — sign up for Wilson Energy text alerts or download our app

Roberson adds, “We’re here to be successful during a natural disaster — with prevention and readiness, as well as maintenance leading up to any storm. Our response rate is a key factor to our success and we want to make sure that our community, and others, are safe and sound.”

The Gig East Exchange - Wilson’s Innovator Destination

The City of Wilson is becoming more connected than ever before. One way we’re already doing this is with our Greenlight fiber network. Its high-speed internet is already transforming the city with the internet of things (IoT) technologies. To further our mission of connection (both figurative and literal) we’re looking to develop and launch the Gig East Exchange.

Announced last year, the Exchange hopes to be a driving force of economic growth for Wilson. We want the Exchange to be a place that attracts entrepreneurs, businesses, and remote workers. Through the gathering of these different groups, we hope to foster a vortex of collaboration that will boost all parties involved.

The Exchange is already drawing talent from the surrounding areas. Recently hired is Darren Smith, Gig East’s exchange manager. He will draw on his experience and connections in the Raleigh tech sector and help us build the next big thing in Wilson.

Smith has a 25-year history of working with startups in the Raleigh-Durham area, building partnerships and relationships on the sales and business development side. Like us, he believes Wilson has a number of factors that can put the city on the cusp of a tech boom.

“Having this high-speed internet, they as a City has asked, ‘How do we use this for the internet of things, how do we use this for wireless?’ Wilson has done a ton of things in the last 10 years because they have the bandwidth to do it,” he said.

It’s widely known that our high-speed internet is an attractive feature for locals and out-of-towners alike. It’s a network not usually seen in crowded metro areas and big telecoms are typically reluctant to offer gigabit speeds unless the clientele is already in place. We built the network ourselves because we believe in Wilson.

Combine our small-town drive with advanced infrastructure and you’re looking at the potential for something big.

Apart from the appeal of our high-speed internet, entrepreneurs and business owners will find the low cost of living, idyllic charm, the short commute, and the amenities Wilson offers as attractive reasons to set up shop here.

Right now, the Gig East Exchange is still in the early planning stages. Visions for the Exchange include suites and single offices, open spaces, co-working spaces, meeting rooms and more. The ultimate goal of the Exchange is for it to serve as a connector for the eastern part of the state looking to access services and professionals that only a connected city like Wilson can offer.

Construction on the space is expected to start soon, will plan to officially open the Exchange in February of 2020.

Have questions or suggestions about the Gig East Exchange? Feel free to leave a comment or reach out to us directly at https://www.gigeast.com/.

Load Management

When you hear the term “load management” you may think of someone hurriedly offering to help another person carry several bags of groceries that are moments away from falling to the ground. While that surely is helping someone “manage a load”, load management is a term that refers to something a bit different when it comes to energy.

Load management, also known as demand side management, is the process of balancing a network’s electric supply through adjusting and controlling the “load” (i.e. how many people are using power and how much power is being consumed). These adjustments can be made in a variety of ways which include:

Managing demand at the highest usage time

• Using generators to reduce the load of a business

• Cycling residential air conditioners and water heaters on and off, or reducing the system voltage

Duke Energy is Wilson’s energy supplier and has 7.2 million customers throughout the United States. It owns 58,200 megawatts of peak generation and base-load, which is distributed to all its customers. Wilson reduces the city’s load as much as possible during Duke Energy’s monthly one-hour peak load — times when Duke Energy is at its peak capacity hour during the month. The peak time varies from month-to-month, with the peak time being in the mornings during the winter months and in the afternoons during the summer months. (It’s colder in the winter mornings and hotter during summer afternoons, which requires more energy from your HVAC system.) Half of Wilson’s monthly utility charges comes from this peak hour.

To manage the load, Wilson has a supply of city, commercial and industrial customer owned generators that it switches on during this peak hour. Load management switches have also been added to residential water heaters and air conditioners. For example, during the summer months, air conditioners that are equipped with load management switches are cycled on and off as a way to reduce energy usage. Wilson Energy also does voltage reduction at the substation level.

So, why manage the load?

Though load management has been around for some time, not everyone is aware that it’s being employed. The primary reason for load management is the associated cost savings for both the city and the customer. Though it varies, Wilson’s load management practices can result in over $16,000,000 in savings a year, before expenses. When you add that up for all the residents and businesses in Wilson, that’s a lot of money!

Load management has short and long term customer benefits.  In the short term, commercial and industrial customers can save on their monthly bills by reducing load during recommended load management times, via generation and/or onsite load reduction methods.  Also in the short term, residential customers can receive credits on their monthly bills of up to $68 per year.  This is possible by having load management switches installed on their air conditioners and electric water heaters.  In the long term, load management will allow Wilson to keep the electric rates down for all customers.

Load management is a great addition to the technologies that Wilson is already employing to make it a smarter, more efficient city for residents and visitors alike. If you have questions about how load management affects you or your business, please reach out to Wilson Energy for more information.

Protecting Our Customers From Price Volatility

Better Forecasting Technology Helps Pass Cost-Savings Onto the Community

What do a polar vortex, unseasonably warm temperatures and pipeline issues all have in common? They each add to the volatility of the complex natural gas market.

As with most commodities, natural gas is subject to significant volatility in pricing – which occurs primarily due to seasonal changes in the weather that impact supply and demand. After all, no one cares about natural gas during the summer when we’re busy cranking up the air conditioning here in North Carolina.

As we move into the cold months, however, the demand for natural gas goes up – right along with the price.

At Wilson Energy, we’ve been working hard over the past year to put advanced forecasting technology to work in order to limit the impact this volatility has on our customers.  As a local municipality, our goal is to be good stewards to this community and to our customers by maintaining exceptional reliability while keeping tabs on costs. To do this, good data and even better forecasting is key.

It’s All About Accuracy
Regardless of the industry, all businesses aim to improve their margin of error. In the natural gas business, this means determining how much gas we actually need ahead of time, which requires us to predict what our customers will need. While we’ve been forecasting this for years with relative accuracy, there are certainly cases when we’ve simply bought more gas than we needed when prices were high. In these instances, we‘ve had to sell our inventory back at a loss – which leads to higher costs all around – for us and for our customers.

Think about it – when fueling your car, do you fill up your entire tank and stock up a reserve tank when gas prices are at their highest? Or, do you stock up when prices are at their lowest and buy just enough to get to where you’re going when prices reach over $3 per gallon?  It’s the same for us with natural gas, which is why accurate forecasting is critical here at Wilson Energy.

Putting Technology to Work
Fortunately, our Data Management team has recently put a new database to work that provides us with access to real-time data that’s based on historical usage, weather forecasts and other factors.  This new technology helps us take the guesswork (and manual processes) out of predicting how much natural gas our customers will need.  This allows us to buy just what we need, and helps us avoid spending too much on extra inventory during the costly winter months.

Fine-tuning this process isn’t easy – it comes with an incredible amount of data to process.  Factors like wind-chill, hour-by-hour temperature forecasts, and much more all play into forecasting how much gas our customers will use on any given day.

The Bottom Line
By evaluating historical patterns and weather forecasts, Wilson Energy’s database tool is allowing us to make better decisions, more quickly. The good news? It’s working. Before implementing this technology, we’d see fluctuations of 5-6 percent in any given month. Having access to good, timely data has flatlined that volatility down to a 1 percent margin of error.
More accuracy from our team means better cost management for you.  And that’s something we can all feel good about, no matter the season.

Wilson’s Smart Grid System

When you make your coffee in the morning or flip on the lights at night — you’re using the grid. “The grid” refers to the electrical grid of transmission, network, and power lines that connect you to the electricity you use everyday. For example, when someone says they’re going “off the grid” they usually mean they will not be accessing public utilities or electricity, and will not be reachable through technology.

A Smart Grid system takes being “on the grid” up a notch. So, what is a Smart Grid? As Smartgrid.gov defines it, a Smart Grid employs “digital technology that allows for two-way communication between the utility and its customers, and the sensing along the transmission lines is what makes the grid smart.” 

A Smart Grid is basically a network of smart tech that connects a user (you) to a service or utility (like electricity). It’s an updated and more efficient version of a previous system — kind of like when libraries switched over from card catalogues to computer databases for checking out books.

The City of Wilson utilizes a Smart Grid system with an automated meter interface (AMI). Wilson replaced its electric utility meters with AMI meters. These digital meters are able to pull all sorts of data such as amperage and voltage information in real time. These AMI meters are connected to Wilson’s Gigabit Greenlight fiber optic network, so the Wilson Utilities team can access all the information — either remotely or through its database.

Getting readings on the server in real time allows for the Wilson Utilities team to track information as it’s happening. It’s incredibly useful in building better profiles for customers who want information on their usage history. For example, if the meter reads that a customer has a spike in their water usage on a particular day, it could be an indication of a leak. Or say an electric meter needs to be turned off, but there’s no crew member available to come out to the resident’s home to do so. Not a problem — with the Smart Grid system technology, the most meters can be turned off remotely.

A Smart Grid system is a win-win situation for both Wilson and its residents. It increases efficiency as it gleans useful information that can help residents keep their utility costs down and saves the city’s utility department money, as fewer team members are being sent out into the field for tasks that can be done with the click of a button. Customers have information at their disposal so they can make educated decisions about their utility usage, rather than only retroactively after they’ve been billed. Workers are also able to perform more menial tasks remotely, which is helpful since electricity is a 24/7 operation.
Other benefits of a Smart Grid system include:

• Faster power restoration after an outage

• Reduced peak demand (which can help lower utility costs for customers)

• Integration of Wilson’s fiber network with customer-facing services

Additionally, the Wilson Utilities team uses the Lineman’s App. It’s an app that is available for workers to download on any device. All of Wilson’s electric crews have iPads that they can use to access AMI readings, file billing information, or communicate with residents through the Lineman’s App. This cuts down on paper workflow and increases efficiency as well.

Wilson’s Smart Grid is one aspect of its technology efforts as it grows to become a smarter and more efficient city for residents and visitors alike.

Historic Downtown Wilson is preparing for the future. With vast improvements throughout the downtown area, from new residential and office buildings to landmark renovations and individual development projects, the city has been hard at work improving the roadways for growth – literally.

Improved transportation routes have long been strategic in stimulating economic growth. Studies have found that they drive productivity, increase business activity and property values, and create employment opportunities. With close to $60 million of investment capital allocated for enhancing historic downtown Wilson, the city’s Public Works department has anticipated the need for improved city streets.

“Research has shown that one-way streets discourage business,” said Bill Bass, Director for Public Works for the City of Wilson. “Several cities around the country have converted one-way streets back to two-way traffic patterns and have seen an increase in business activity.”

In addition to increased business activity, two-way streets in downtown areas improve safety for both motorists and pedestrians. They also facilitate better responses from fire, police and emergency services and move traffic more efficiently.

With those ultimate goals in mind, Wilson is working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to convert two key one-way streets into two-way roadways. In addition, the project includes replacing the current traffic signals with all-way stops. Finally, to the excitement of many downtown visitors, planned lane modifications will create additional on-street parking.

For those familiar with the current street layout, consider how much easier it will be to enjoy a night downtown with simpler street access, more parking and safer thoroughfares. These road improvements and infrastructure updates are anticipated to improve access to the downtown businesses, driving the economy and incentivizing additional businesses to invest in the area.

According to TransportationEconomics.org, “improved accessibility may increase workers' ability to access education and employment opportunities (increasing their productivity and incomes), increase residents' access to more shopping opportunities (providing financial savings), and increase access to recreation and cultural opportunities (increasing their welfare).”

Wilson Energy Elevates the Town’s Gig East Initiative

If you live in Wilson, you’re no doubt familiar with the term Gig East. The Wilson-specific coinage refers to the town’s set of programming, community events, and networking that are focused on economic development, technology and innovation.

Gig East has three components:

• The East Exchange — is an innovation center, coworking space, and the home base of an accelerator program that is currently in development.

• The meet-up series — is a convention for people in the community and the region at-large who gather together on a bi-monthly basis to discuss topics related to technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and more.

• The summit — An annual event that brings together thought leaders across the nation who discuss what the future of communities like Wilson will look like. The day-long conference focuses on opportunities for growth and setting up Wilson for success in the future.

“Gig East is a community where we are trying to create an ecosystem of people in Wilson and from the Triangle who can contribute to the future of Wilson,” said Will Aycock, General Manager of Greenlight Community Broadband with the city of Wilson.

So, how does Wilson Energy fit into all of this?

At a basic level, innovation and technology can’t happen without power. Aycock noted that Wilson Energy has been a key player in the economic development of the city and that “Gig East is really additive to these economic development endeavors.” Investment in infrastructure, remaining engaged in workforce development programming, and supporting municipal leaders all factor into Wilson Energy’s contribution to the Gig East initiative.

“We’re trying to be forward looking and we understand that innovation is an important aspect of economic development,” Aycock said. “Additionally, we know that creating opportunities for Wilson to be appealing to the people who are currently in the urban areas of our state is important. So, creating jobs and meeting demands is imperative.”

It’s a known fact that Wilson’s high-speed Gigabit internet connection certainly puts it ahead of other cities in the state and beyond. What may not be as easily recognizable though, is the benefit of having a localized full-service utility department that includes broadband, electric, gas, water, and energy. Ayock pointed out that having a full-service utility that is “completely focused on the health and growth of the community” is a competitive advantage that propels Wilson forward.

“If our employees live here, work in the system everyday, know our customers and our community and understand the needs of Wilson, it allows us to provide a higher level of service,” he said. “Because we have all of these assets together, we’re able to be very forward looking in what we’re doing in technology.”

To remain competitive and relevant, Wilson has heavily invested in its infrastructure with things like automated outage and load management, along with other offerings to ensure a higher quality of customer service. One look at Wilson’s AMI system, Greenlight connectivity, and other Smart City resources proves the town is bringing the concept of Gig East to life.

“Wilson utilities is one team, all working together,” Aycock assured. “We’re working together to provide comprehensive service to our customers and all of these things we’re doing, from Smart City efforts to the Exchange, are about helping to make Wilson a healthier and happier place for our citizens and our employees.”