With energy costs increasing across the state, it seems like everyone is looking for ways to save — even providers. National Grid, which serves millions of customers in upstate New York, is giving a new life to old materials that no longer serve their purpose. It’s a process that not only saves the company money, but can benefit the community in some unique ways too.
The Haven at Skanda is one of the places that has benefitted from National Grid’s old, unusable materials. Nicole Woodruff, who owns the farm, says donations go a long way in helping the Haven’s purpose.
“It’s to give every animal that comes through our door the best life they can possibly have,” Woodruff said.
For Woodruff, that means giving them lots of loving, an abundance of dirt and grass to roll around on and plenty of new toys.
But the animals at the Haven haven’t always had it so easy.
“A lot of the animals that we get in are from situations where they’ve been neglected or abused,” Woodruff explained.
A goat enjoys a donated wooden spool from National Grid. (Spectrum News 1/Natalie Mooney)
She says the Haven has given them a new lease on life. And a recent donation of several large wooden spools from National Grid helps with that mission. Woodruff says her goats absolutely love them.
“They sleep on them, they climb all over them, they play on them,” Woodruff said. “So it’s really nice to have them have that in here.”
Megan Behm, the manager of National Grid’s Investment Recovery Center, says there’s plenty more where that came from.
“We’re retiring assets on the daily, so we’re receiving in materials constantly,” Behm said. “After we’re done with our job, the job isn’t quite over yet, so that’s where my team comes into the mix.”
They analyze their old and surplus supplies to see if they can be reused or sold, a process that helps the company save money on its projects.
“We’re able to be creative with continuing to use our assets, continuing to use what we already have, so we’re not having to invest extra,” Behm said.
By saving on projects, the company is indirectly helping customers save on their bills.
“Our future projects are not as costly to our customers,” Behm explained.
Wooden spools and wires that have been returned to National Grid’s Investment Recovery Center. (Spectrum News 1/Natalie Mooney)
National Grid makes sure it’s getting the most bang for its buck, even old wire gets stripped down to separate copper and aluminum.
“We run it through this equipment so that way we can really maximize our profit,” Behm said.
Anything that can’t be used, stripped or sold gets donated — like the spools at The Haven.
“For National Grid to be so generous and to be so willing and so excited to give us something like this, it’s very meaningful to us,” Woodruff said.
Just like these spools were given a new life, so were these animals. Woodruff says she’s just happy to see them happy.
“Their life was awful before coming here, and so to see them actually enjoying life, it’s, you know, gives us purpose,” Woodruff said.
And it’s not just wire and spools that get processed at National Grid’s Investment Recovery Center, National Grid says they get everything from office furniture to vintage electronics, as well as a wide range of electrical and gas equipment.