Area hospitals partner with Union Gas to become more energy effecient

News Release
Riverside Health Care Facilities

Riverside Health Care is lowering operating costs and lightening the environmental footprint of its facilities in Fort Frances, Emo and Rainy River, thanks to Union Gas and the Ontario Hospital Association.
Union Gas and the OHA’s Green Hospital Champion Fund provided $17,600 in incentives to help the corporation complete a thorough energy assessment of its three facilities.
The assessment, conducted by VIP Energy of Waterloo, identified a number of conservation initiatives that could significantly reduce the company’s gas, electricity and water consumption.
Through its EnerSmart program, Union Gas provided an additional $5,000 to help install a higher-efficiency natural gas boiler at Riverside’s Emo Health Centre. The EnerSmart program offers incentives to its commercial and industrial customers to implement projects that will use natural gas more efficiently.
“Union Gas is committed to helping our business customers make smart investments in energy-efficient equipment and technologies,” said Mel Ydreos, vice president of marketing and customer care for Union Gas. “These investments not only help companies like Riverside significantly reduce operating costs, they also help the environment.”
By installing higher-efficiency natural gas equipment and water-saving devices, Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc., will save about 232,232 cubic metres of natural gas a year – or the equivalent of heating over 89 homes for a year at its three facilities. In addition, the company can reduce its electricity consumption by 429,214 kWh, save 22.2 million litres of water, and shave its carbon emissions by 411 tones of Co2 - that’s the equivalent of permanently removing 110 cars from Ontario’s roads.
And once these conservation projects are completed, Riverside will continue to save money on energy consumption at its facilities, year after year.
“The projects identified through the energy assessment will result in significant cost and energy savings for our health care facilities,” said Ed Cousineau, Riverside’s senior director of facilities for capital planning and engineering. “The incentive funding provided by Union Gas and Green Hospital Champion Fund, will help us achieve substantial environmental and economic benefits.”