NYC Health + Hospitals earns more than $1.4M from utility for energy savings

NYC Health + Hospitals, the city’s public health system, announced on Earth Day that it earned more than $1.4 million from Con Edison last year for reducing its electricity consumption during the summer.

Con Edison’s demand-response program rewards organizations for reducing their energy use on extreme-temperature days, lessening the load on the city’s grid.

The award is the highest H+H has received from the program, said Christine Flaherty, senior vice president of the Office of Facilities Development. With more than 20 million square feet of space in the health system, there are plenty of opportunities to reduce energy usage, she said.

H+H said the proceeds will be reinvested in the five facilities that achieved the most energy savings: Bellevue in Kips Bay, Harlem, Jacobi in the Bronx, Kings County and Woodhull in Brooklyn, Flaherty said. The funds will be used to upgrade valve systems and building management systems, she said. The work will complement the multimillion-dollar projects the health system has undertaken to reduce its carbon footprint, such as installing solar panels, she added.

More than $100 million has been secured in the past six months, she said, for energy infrastructure upgrades at Bellevue, Harlem and North Central Bronx, including to the boiler plant, air-handling units, windows, lighting and elevators.

The health system is participating in the city’s and state’s initiatives to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and decrease electric grid consumption by 50% in the next 10 years, Flaherty said.

“This program with Con Ed,” she said, “is just one small piece of our long-term investment to fight climate change.”