Overview
The Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA), located in Springfield IL, provides wholesale electricity to its municipally-operated electric systems, which they re-sell on the retail market. IMEA also sells power to other qualified utilities. Of its 31 municipal systems, 29 purchase wholesale electricity from the Agency. The IMEA’s goal is to keep the members’ power costs low and to insulate them from the high prices that are increasingly common in the short-term power market.
When the IMEA built its new headquarters, they used green design principles, including an advanced geothermal heating and cooling system, automatic lighting, and low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints and finishes. The new 24/7 operations center within the headquarters is hardened against natural and man-made disasters, so that the company can provide continuous essential services to its customers.

The Challenge
The IMEA gave no less consideration to its choice of technology for the operations center. They had to find a control room solution that would combine and provide 24-hour monitoring of no less than ten data sources. Given the mission-critical, around-the-clock nature of the operations center and the company’s real-time decision making requirements, the solution also had to be ergonomically advanced to avoid operator fatigue.

The Solution
IMEA consulted with Thompson Electronics of Peoria IL, who recommended a Christie solution for the 30’ x 50’ foot control room. Thompson Electronics installed five 67” Cubes in a 1 x 5 configuration using RPMX-D120U XGA projection systems integrated by two TVC-1100 Video Wall Controllers. The control room video wall went live in late 2007 and is now playing a vital role in IMEA operations.

Jeremy Caldera, the Thompson Electronics lead on this project, noted that “Christie’s support during this project has been great. They provided any and all assistance we needed to implement this advanced video wall solution on budget and ahead of schedule.”

Decision Making Factors
Thompson Electronics’ status with IMEA as a trusted vendor was the primary factor in their selection. When Thompson Electronics examined all of IMEA’s requirements, the size of the room, the configuration, and the need for high quality and flexibility, they selected a Christie control room solution.

Return on Investment
Thompson Electronics recommended the Christie control room solution for a number of reasons besides its high quality:

• By consolidating the many data feeds in a single location,  IMEA has been able to reduce operating and personnel costs while working more effectively to meet their customers’ needs.
• The longevity of the solution ensures that its cost could be amortized over a long period of time.
• The solution’s dependability, with redundant lamps, long lamp life and ease of maintenance, ensures the system will operate when and as required.
• The flexibility of the Video Wall Controller system ensures that it will grow with IMEA’s requirements.