Page was engaged in transitioning the existing fully operational Ben Taub General Hospital from an independent central utility plant capable of producing both chilled water and steam to an Institution that receives thermal utilities from the Thermal Energy Corporation (TECO) distribution system. Ben Taub General Hospital is one of two Level One trauma centers serving the population of the City of Houston and Harris County. It was critical that the thermal utility infrastructure remain fully operational throughout construction and switch over. As part of our due diligence, Page determined that the initial capacity calculations were in error (approximately 50% too low). Page consulted with the Owner and assisted in renegotiating with the utility to acquire adequate capacity for the Hospital.

A construction phasing plan was developed by Page for the central plant transition project. The phasing plan allowed for the orderly installation of new 20” chilled water and 6” steam piping systems without the need for shutdowns or costly rental of temporary equipment. In the initial phase, utilities from the underground TECO utility vault to the existing Physical Plant Building were installed. Inside the plant, select decommissioning of redundant or obsolete equipment allowed for connection of the new TECO site piping to the existing hospital systems. After cleaning and flushing of the piping systems the steam and condensate systems were connected. During commissioning, the Hospital could choose to operate either using their stand-alone utilities or TECO. The process was repeated in the second phase for the chilled water system – again allowing for stand-alone or TECO operation.