NRG Energy signs contract to provide energy services to UMCPP

NRG Energy, Inc., (NYSE: NRG) through its subsidiary NRG Thermal, has signed a contract to provide comprehensive, high-efficiency energy services to the new University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (UMCPP). The 237-single patient room, acute-care hospital is currently under construction in Plainsboro, NJ, and is expected to open by the end of 2011.

“We’re honored to be part of Princeton HealthCare System’s team as they bring this new state-of-the-art hospital with advanced, energy efficient systems to the Princeton area”

Under the 13-year contract, NRG will provide services from its Combined Heat and Power Plus (CHP Plus) program that integrates conventional, proven energy sources and leverages them with leading efficiency and environmental technologies. The hospital will use electricity from a combined heat and power system that includes the production of steam for heating and chilled water for air conditioning, achieved by means of a thermal energy storage system. Other “green” elements include solar power generation and energy-saving “smart” meters, as well as and backup power.

“NRG’s proposed CHP Plus program enables us to use environmentally sustainable energy as we fulfill our mission of providing high-quality health care,” said Barry Rabner, President and CEO of Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS), whose acute-care hospital is UMCPP. “NRG will fully meet our hospital’s energy needs while reducing our operating costs and protecting the environment.”

Benefits of the CHP Plus system include:

• Lower Total Costs. By using a packaged approach to energy, overall energy costs are significantly less than providing and implementing these sources of energy individually.
• Optimal Energy Efficiency. CHP Plus takes an already energy-efficient power system and enhances it with “smart” appliances and meters that monitor and adjust energy consumption for optimal efficiency.
• Employment. Building and operating the CHP Plus systems will create approximately 125 construction jobs and a dozen long-term employment opportunities.
• Reliability. The on-site CHP facility is especially beneficial for a hospital as it will provide enhanced reliability and 100% redundancy for its power needs. Generally, hospitals have two sources of power: the local utility and limited power from emergency generators in case of grid failure. The UMCP replacement facility at Plainsboro will have access to power generated by CHP as the primary source; this power will be backed up fully by the local utility power, and finally, a limited power to crucial areas of the hospital from emergency generators.

“We’re honored to be part of Princeton HealthCare System’s team as they bring this new state-of-the-art hospital with advanced, energy efficient systems to the Princeton area,” said David Crane, President and CEO of NRG Energy. “Our joint effort with Princeton HealthCare has been made possible by the effective implementation of a far-sighted state energy policy as reflected in New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan.”

The structural elements of the CHP system are subject to Plainsboro Township Planning Board approval, since such a power generating system was not initially part of the Plainsboro site plan approval of the hospital project.