The new power plant at Wallaceburg’s hospital has been operational for about two weeks, replacing an old system that still had some pieces from the 1960s.
Reporters were invited on Sept. 1 to tour the $7.3-million structure, which was built with an energy capacity to meet the needs of a planned redevelopment of the rest of the hospital.
“As important as this is for the current hospital, really what it signifies is the government will support the next phases because they’ve built this huge power plant,” Aaron Ryan, vice president of performance and chief financial officer, said.
“I think it’s more for the future than the current building, as much as it benefits the current building.”
Ryan said the old electrical system could not have supported the planned redevelopment. Terra Kitzul Arens, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance’s project manager of facilities planning, the old power supply was made of components from the 1960s to the present.
The power plant includes a mechanical room, a valve room, an electrical room and two generator rooms. The old building had just one generator.
“The biggest benefit currently is it gives us that second redundant system, so we have a backup to our backup power, which we didn’t have in the past,” Ryan said.
The switchover to the new electrical system occurred at night, Kitzul Arens said.
“There is normally an emergency power provided to most of our spaces, so we switched anything critical over to the panel in the system that we weren’t working on, connected it and then switched it back,” Kitzul Arens said.
The remainder of the redevelopment plan has been estimated to cost $25 million. Ryan said the hospital group plans to submit its application for the next phase by late fall or the end of the year.
The Ontario government will need to approve the plan before it moves ahead.
The second phase of the redevelopment is the new buildings for the emergency department, medicine beds, diagnostic imaging and laboratory. These spaces will be built in the parking lot near the power plant.
