Case Study: Helping Doylestown Hospital Save $390,000+ Annually on Energy

Client Overview: Doylestown Hospital

Doylestown Hospital, a leading nonprofit healthcare facility in Bucks County, PA, operates 24/7 to provide critical care services across its 240-bed campus. With high demands for electricity and thermal energy, the hospital relies on both utility power and its on-site cogeneration (CHP) plant. But despite this investment in energy efficiency, rising utility costs and outdated procurement strategies were limiting their savings potential.

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That’s where we Doc Bakey came in.

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The Challenge

While the hospital had invested in a CHP system to reduce grid reliance, it was still using traditional fixed-price contracts for its electricity and gas. This approach ignored key opportunities to:

• Offset grid purchases with strategic market buys

• Time purchases to market dips

• Coordinate fuel buying with CHP output

• Avoid capacity and peak demand charges

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The Result

Higher-than-necessary energy costs, reduced efficiency of their CHP asset, and a procurement strategy not aligned with their energy goals.

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Our Solution: A Smarter Way to Buy Power and Gas

We worked closely with Doylestown Hospital’s operations and finance teams to implement a customized procurement strategy built around their facility profile and CHP system.

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+ Block-and-Index Electricity Strategy

We analyzed their hourly usage and CHP output, then secured fixed-price blocks to cover predictable demand. The remaining energy was bought at index pricing, capturing savings when the wholesale market was soft—while capping risk with built-in limits.

+ Natural Gas Strategy for CHP Efficiency

We created a gas procurement plan that aligned with their CHP plant’s fuel profile:

• Locked in fixed pricing for base usage

• Bought variable gas on the monthly index

• Timed purchases using NYMEX market data

+ Integrated Cogeneration Optimization

We aligned energy purchases with CHP scheduling to maximize ROI and reduce capacity charges. We also introduced live monitoring to compare CHP performance against utility costs in real time.

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Results That Matter

• $390,000+ in annual savings across electricity and gas

• Increased CHP utilization from ~72% to ~85%

• Enhanced budget predictability and purchasing flexibility

• Smarter, data-driven procurement aligned with hospital operations

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Why It Worked

This project was successful because we customized the energy buying strategy to fit the hospital’s real-world operations. By integrating market timing, CHP efficiency, and a block/index procurement model, Doylestown Hospital reduced costs, improved energy resilience, and gained confidence in its budget planning.

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Want Similar Results?

If you're managing a hospital, industrial facility, or campus with complex energy needs, we can help you:

• Lower your energy spend

• Optimize your CHP or on-site generation

• Protect ycour budget from market volatility

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