A Spokane-based Dish Network (DISH) facility achieved significant energy savings, reduced fuel costs and improved system operations at the regional hub thanks to a collaboration between BPA, Inland Power & Light Company. The project marks the first deployment of a heat pump engine block heater system in BPA’s service territory. 

Supported by BPA’s Energy Smart Industrial Program and Inland Power, the implementation of this new technology represents a major technological advancement in backup generation infrastructure maintenance. 

DISH is primarily known for television, distributing broadcast signals to millions of households. At its Spokane Washington facility, which transmits uplinks and broadcast coverage for the Pacific Northwest, maintaining constant power is an absolute necessity. Because of this, the facility depends on backup generators. DISH receives electric service from Inland Power. 

If utility power fails, the generators must pick up the electrical load seamlessly to ensure that thousands of customers don’t lose their television broadcast signals. Consequently, these generators represent critical infrastructure for regional communications. 

The facility is equipped with three large emergency diesel generators to guarantee immediate startup during outages, each weighing approximately 22,000 pounds. Traditionally, the generators relied on an electric-resistance engine block heater running 24/7 to keep it warm and circulate its fluids, resulting in a substantial amount of electricity consumption. 

An equipment manufacturer, Hotstart Thermal Management, developed an innovative heat pump alternative that captures and reuses heat from the surrounding ambient air. This process significantly lowers the electricity required to keep critical backup generators and their fluids at a uniform standby temperature by circulating warm coolant throughout the generator’s engine. 

In 2025, Hotstart contacted DISH to propose a complimentary trial that included setup and real-time metering of the facility’s energy use while tracking the performance of their technology. DISH immediately saw results and decided to install this technology on all three backup generators. 

With these upgrades, each generator will save approximately 85,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, along with an estimated diesel fuel savings of 25 gallons per hour and a 30% drop in diesel emissions every year. Beyond energy savings, the system’s consistent lower temperatures reduce overall equipment wear and tear and expands the lifespan of these backup generators. 

“The project successfully reduced the constant energy draw by DISH’s backup generator system while simultaneously improving the maintenance profile for each standby engine,” says ESI Project Manager Jimmy Sauter. “Facilities with backup generators that represent critical infrastructure to its community being able to lower utility bills while protecting the physical lifespan of their equipment constitutes a substantial benefit.” 

The project’s electrical savings complement other upgrades at the facility. Over the past year, DISH also implemented a corporate operating system update to optimize generator start-up sequencing. Under the new system, each generator will automatically shut down when the electrical load does not require all three to operate. 

BPA’s engineering team reviewed the project and performed technical analysis of the data. “Identifying and supporting emerging technologies that drive down energy consumption and lower utility costs is a part of BPA’s core mission,” Energy Conservation Account Executive Lindsey Hobbs said. “By targeting energy-intensive, year-round processes like this standby generator block heating system, we can deliver substantial cost savings while reducing overall demand to the power grid.”