The Lahey Clinic
In 2006, the Lahey Clinic signed up for PowerOptions natural gas program for its Burlington and North Shore facilities. Over a 48-month period, the Lahey has saved almost $700,000 in gas costs.
“Cost is important, but reliability is even more important. A hospital simply cannot lose its ability to provide heat and process steam for their patients,” said Ken Nix, Lahey Clinic Project Manager Engineering & Regulatory Compliance. “The PowerOptions contract assures us that our continuous supply of natural gas will be delivered at a predictable and reasonable cost.”
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
Fundraising, grants, events, membership and admission fees are critical to the ICA’s ability to keep putting on ambitious shows and programs that keep them on the map. “Money that we don’t spend on energy bills can also play an important role in funding exhibitions, the permanent collection and our other programming,” explained Jana Dengler, ICA’s Director of Facilities and Security.
The ICA first signed up for PowerOptions 2002 Electricity Program while in its previous Back Bay location, saving 14% over what it would have paid under the utility basic service during the four-year contract period. “As a result of these electricity savings, we signed up for PowerOptions Natural Gas Program in 2005 and have continued to save a substantial amount over the past five years. These energy savings mean that the ICA has been able to reduce operating costs, invest in additional energy saving initiatives, and have more dollars for programming,” stated Jana.
Lowell Housing Authority
In 2007, LHA embarked upon a two-pronged approach: a $9 Million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD-Approved energy conservation capital improvement program to increase energy efficiency and membership in PowerOptions natural gas and electricity programs to manage the volatility in energy prices.
“We replaced aging boiler and domestic hot water systems, installed high efficiency lighting, and put in place a half-dozen other conservation measures to cut down on our energy consumption,” explained Bill Duggan, Deputy Director of Facilities Management. “At the same time, we signed up for PowerOptions, enabling us to buy both natural gas and electricity at predictable and fixed prices over the long-term. We’ve cut our electric and gas costs by 50% and we are no longer seeing the extreme fluctuations in prices of several years ago.”