PSE&G Helps UMDNJ Cut Its Energy Bill

NEWARK, N.J., May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) today joined with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) for the installation of a 2,700-ton chiller as part of their $11.4 million effort to bring energy efficiency improvements to University Hospital and four buildings on its Newark campus.

These improvements will help reduce UMDNJ's energy consumption. The improvements are made possible through PSE&G's $79 million Hospital Efficiency Program, which will benefit 19 hospitals across the utility's service territory. In total, the utility is investing $240 million through 11 initiatives that help fund energy efficiency investments targeted at populations and entities with the greatest need and also stimulate economic activity.

"New Jersey hospitals are really struggling financially and nearly a third are operating in the red," said Al Matos, vice president-renewables and energy solutions, PSE&G. "They find it nearly impossible to budget for infrastructure upgrades, no matter how much they're needed. This accelerated efficiency program for hospitals has been extremely successful because it meets the needs of a severely stressed business sector. It provides money upfront and permits savings benefits to be realized quickly so that medical centers can focus on their mission-critical function of saving lives."  

Through the Hospital Efficiency Program, PSE&G will provide the $11.4 million investment, with UMDNJ repaying $2.7 million over three years, interest free. The Hospital Efficiency Program covers the $8.7 million investment difference. These investments are expected to reduce UMDNJ's annual utility bill by about $1.3 million.

"It is a wonderful opportunity for UMDNJ, and we are pleased to be able to participate in PSE&G's program," says Christopher Kosseff, senior vice president for administration at UMDNJ. "The economics make sense, and we embrace this opportunity both to improve the efficiency of our operations and make a strong contribution to improving the environment."  

Following an extensive, investment-grade audit, improvements at UMDNJ will focus on improved cooling capabilities and include installation of a sophisticated control system and two new energy-efficient chillers. The control system will regulate the chilled water distribution pressure to each building and each air handler within, using monitoring sensors to adjust flow rates instantly to maximize efficiency. This automated system will replace the manually operated system that currently exists. The automatic monitoring will reduce the chilled water demands, thereby reducing the energy needed to produce the chilled water and the energy needed to pump the chilled water throughout the system. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2011.  

Of 52 eligible hospital facilities in PSE&G's service territory, 40 applied to participate in the program. The PSE&G Hospital Efficiency Program has funded 19 of the applications and work is in various stages at each of them. The remaining applications remain pending available funding.

"The program has limited funding, but its success so far should prove a catalyst for additional investment for those eligible hospitals that currently are not to participate in the program," Matos said.

The PSE&G Hospital Efficiency Program is a $79 million initiative that will fund the installation of energy conservation measures at 19 hospitals in the utility's service territory.  Through the program, PSE&G provides an investment-grade audit at no cost to the customer, then proposes various cost-effective energy conservation measures that make a substantial impact on the hospital's energy efficiency and meet other program criteria such as having a simple payback of less than 15 years.  The program greatly reduces the financial burden on a hospital by providing up-front funding for the total cost of a project.  The hospital then pays back a portion of the total project cost after the project is complete on the PSE&G utility bill at zero percent interest over 36 months.

Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is New Jersey's oldest and largest regulated gas and electric delivery utility, serving nearly three-quarters of the state's population. PSE&G is the winner of the ReliabilityOne Award for superior electric system reliability. PSE&G is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG), a diversified energy company (www.pseg.com).

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university, with more than 6,000 students on five campuses attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health-related professions, a school of nursing, and New Jersey's only school of public health.  UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, which provides a continuum of healthcare services with multiple locations throughout the state.

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SOURCE Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G)