NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — In the sweltering heat that July can bring, electricity becomes our best friend, giving us the power to protect our health and keep our houses cool.

And recently, power just got a whole lot more reliable for those on the grid in North Dakota.

A second 88-megawatt simple cycle combustion turbine, known as the Heskett 4, just went online this week in Mandan.

“We have to account for the demand of our customers and have enough generation to cover that,” said MDU spokesman Mark Hanson.

Replacing their over 70-year-old coal plants, Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) installed their first turbine, the Heskett 3, in 2014.

The turbine works by using natural gas to heat up steam that runs the turbines that create electricity.

The Heskett 4 sits along its sister unit on the Mandan power plant, which has been operating since the mid-50s.

It took a year for the Heskett 4 to be constructed, with MDU making the decision to add another turbine based on their growth and demand. Installed earlier this week, the Heskett 4 came with a $69 million price tag.

Unlike older coal plants, the Heskett series is more cost-efficient and also has a smaller footprint. And Hanson says it’s just what their customers need.

“The biggest value is reliability for power,” said Hanson.

The Heskett 4, like the Heskett 3, is only run when the demand is really high, such as during the summer, when the weather is hot, and people are using more power than usual.

And unlike MDU’s older coal units, which would sometimes take a day before reaching full capacity, the Heskett 4 can do just that in 30 minutes.

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