BWL Steam Overview
The Lansing Board of Water & Light maintains approximately 9.7 miles of underground steam piping serving nearly 200 residential, business and industrial steam customers from the REO Cogeneration Plant. Steam acts as more than just a heat source, it can also be used for humidity control, cooling, domestic hot water, de-icing and industrial and commercial processing.
Rate Information
Steam rate information for residential and business customers can be found below.
Steam to Hot Water Project
BWL’s steam system has reliably helped serve Lansing’s downtown region for over 100 years. Now as the system reaches the end of its useful life, the BWL is excited to provide a modern, more efficient utility service to meet our customers’ needs. Phased over the next several years, we’ll begin transitioning downtown services from steam to a hot water system.
The transition to hot water will improve reliability with newer and upgraded infrastructure, plus add redundancy measures to respond faster to unplanned outages. Hot water systems are more efficient and environmentally conscious, as they use a closed loop system that requires less gas to heat, saving energy and water. This means a cleaner utility with lower costs for BWL customers compared to the existing steam service.
What steam customers can expect:
- All current steam customers received a letter announcing the project.
- Customers in the first phase of the project will be contacted to discuss options.
- Customers’ current services will not change without a transition plan between the customer and the BWL.
- Customers in future phase areas will be contacted as the project progresses.
- If customers have planned building projects that impact the heating and HVAC systems, please reach out to the BWL to discuss how to optimize the building systems for a future hot water connection.
Hot water will be produced by BWL and pumped through insulated, underground pipes to customer buildings. Once the hot water reaches the customer, it flows through a hot water heat exchanger that transfers heat to the building’s HVAC system. The building’s hot water flows through the building’s loop to terminal units (i.e. air handers, fan coil units, or radiators) to warm up rooms. BWL hot water can also be used to generate hot water at faucets and appliances.
As the BWL water goes through the heat exchanger, the temperature is lowered and the lower temperature water is returned to the BWL to be reheated and recirculated, continuing the closed-loop system.
Hot water systems are more efficient than steam systems due to their recirculating and reheating process, saving energy and water. This increased efficiency and lower energy loss translates into lower costs for customers on the hot water system.
The top priority of the BWL team is a smooth transition of services. If you’re a steam customer with questions, please fill out the form below.
Have Questions?
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