Citizens Medical Center Success Story

“We now feel confident going into the hurricane season knowing that our power resiliency is in the hands of experts and were surprised to discover this risk could be addressed so affordably with Enchanted Rock’s proven resiliency solution”

The Client

Citizens Medical Center, located in Victoria, Texas, is an independent community-based hospital dedicated to improving the health and wellness of South Texas. Citizens was founded in 1956 with a commitment to delivering quality health care in a personalized manner for the citizens of our region. Today, Citizens is a 317-bed acute care hospital with over 1,200 employees. Citizens Medical Center is recognized for its nationally accredited cardiology and stroke programs, emergency services, bariatric surgery, general surgery, orthopedics, urology, primary care, pulmonology, oncology, labor and delivery, rehabilitation and wellness.

The Challenge

Like most hospitals, Citizens was equipped with emergency diesel generators that backed up select equipment, life safety, and critical loads required for regulatory compliance. While these partial backup systems allow critical applications to function during a power outage, elective procedures must be postponed, which results in significant loss of revenue. When Hurricane Harvey swept through the Gulf Coast in 2017, Citizens experienced the immediate impact of power failure. During Harvey, the loss of both water and electricity prevented even critical applications from functioning, and required Citizens to evacuate patients to a safer location, resulting in $6 million of lost revenue for the hospital.

The Solution

Enchanted Rock’s Dual Purpose Microgrids offer dependable backup power at a fraction of the cost of comparable diesel backup. Enchanted Rock’s Resiliency-as-a-Service solution will provide Citizens with the most reliable form of backup power without a high capital cost and operations and maintenance efforts. Enchanted Rock owns and operates the systems, allowing Citizens to focus their time on what matters most – providing high-quality service for their patients.

The Result

Citizen Medical Center already had diesel generators that complied with regulatory standards, Enchanted Rock designed a solution that integrates with the existing system. Enchanted Rock’s Dual Purpose Microgrid will be located upstream of the diesel equipment, between the utility and the load, acting as a secondary utility power supply. In the event of an outage, the diesel generators will pick up the critical load. In tandem, Enchanted Rock’s generators will power on and pick up the entire facility’s load in a matter of seconds – including the loads the diesel generators are already powering.

About Enchanted Rock

Founded in 2006, Enchanted Rock is a leader in electrical resiliency-as-a-service, powering companies, critical infrastructure and communities to ensure operational continuity during unexpected power outages from extreme weather, infrastructure failures, cyberattacks and other grid disruptions. Enchanted Rock’s dual-purpose microgrids use natural gas and renewable natural gas (RNG) offsets to produce significantly lower carbon emissions and air pollutants than diesel generators, capable of achieving resiliency with net-zero emissions. Additionally, the company’s end-to-end microgrid software platform, Granite Ecosystem™, provides real time 24/7/365 system monitoring and optimization, including forecasting of electricity market conditions to ensure worry free reliable power to customers.

After evaluating many options, Citizens Medical Center selected Enchanted Rock’s Resiliency-as-a-Service solution, with its dual-purpose microgrid to ensure business continuity from unexpected power outages that could impact the safety, medical care, and comfort of its patients.

1. AFFORDABILITY:Enchanted Rock owns and operates the systems, relieving Citizens of the majority of the cost of ownership. Due to Enchanted Rock’s unique model, the hospital only paid a small upfront contribution that was 20% of the cost of the entire system.

2. EXPERIENCE:Enchanted Rock operates the largest dispatchable distributed generation fleet in Texas and has a track record of providing long-duration backup power at 99.999% combined reliability.

3. TURNKEY SOLUTION:
Enchanted Rock’s Resiliency-as-a-Service solution, with its dual-purpose microgrid enable companies to stay powered and communities to be resilient. Enchanted Rock dual-purpose microgrids are managed and optimized 24/7/365 that enable worry-free protection from extended power electrical outages. Enchanted Rock delivers resilient backup power, often at half the price of diesel, by financing, operating, and maintaining the systems.

About Enchanted Rock

Founded in 2006, Enchanted Rock is a leader in electrical resiliency-as-a-service, powering companies, critical infrastructure and communities to ensure operational continuity during unexpected power outages from extreme weather, infrastructure failures, cyberattacks and other grid disruptions. Enchanted Rock’s dual-purpose microgrids use natural gas and renewable natural gas (RNG) offsets to produce significantly lower carbon emissions and air pollutants than diesel generators, capable of achieving resiliency with netzero emissions. Additionally, the company’s end-to-end microgrid software platform, GraniteEcosystem™, provides real-time 24/7/365 system monitoring and optimization, including forecasting of electricity market conditions to ensure worry-free reliable power to customers. For more information, please visit www.enchantedrock.com or visit Twitter or LinkedIn.