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Energy-as-a-Service

ENFRA × Rochester Regional Health

A $143.8 million, 30-year partnership to modernize and operate energy infrastructure across the health system's nine hospital locations, from heating and cooling plants to solar and EV charging.1

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About ENFRA

An energy services company built around EaaS.

ENFRA traces its roots to 1919 and operated as Bernhard until it rebranded in May 2025. It is an energy infrastructure company with 3,000+ employees, 29 offices, and operations in 24 states.2,3 Its EaaS portfolio includes more than $2 billion in financed projects with $87 million in guaranteed annual utility savings.2

Under ENFRA's Energy-as-a-Service model, a hospital pays a predictable operating expense instead of funding plant upgrades as capital. ENFRA designs, builds, finances, operates, and maintains the energy systems under long-term agreements, typically 30 years, and monitors them with its own software, ENFRA Connect®, for real-time data and fault detection.

Clients include Ochsner Health (in 2017, the first U.S. healthcare Energy Asset Concession),4 Hackensack Meridian ($134M),5 Beacon Health ($54.2M),6 and Novant Health ($855M, which ENFRA called the largest EaaS transaction in U.S. healthcare history when it was announced in 2025).7 The EaaS business has grown at more than 35% CAGR since 2017.3

Role

Sustainability Engineer II / Asset Manager

I manage the Central Energy Plants at two Rochester Regional Health facilities: United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC) in Batavia, NY and St. Mary's Medical Campus in Rochester, NY. The work falls under a $143.8 million, 30-year EaaS partnership, announced January 20, 2026, that covers all nine RRH hospital locations.1

I oversee subcontractors, manage maintenance budgets, and analyze energy data to find savings. My main job is keeping the plants running, since the hospitals depend on them for heating, cooling, sterilization, and power.

Rochester Regional Health

  • •Nine hospitals, 557 practice locations, 19,400+ employees8
  • •Second-largest employer in Rochester, NY8
  • •Set a goal of sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewables by 20259
  • •A 5.48 MW solar farm in Parma, NY, the second-largest single-site solar farm in New York State when it came online in 201910
Interactive Diagram

Anatomy of a Central Energy Plant.

The central energy plant makes the steam, chilled water, and emergency power a hospital needs for heating, cooling, sterilization, and critical care. Select a system to see what it does, or switch to a utility outage to see how the plant keeps critical loads powered.

Hospital central energy plant, simplified schematic

Six plant systems and five utility loops serving one campus. Pipes animate in the direction of flow.

CENTRAL ENERGY PLANTHOSPITAL CAMPUSNatural gasUtility powerControlsENFRA Connect®Cooling towersInduced draftChillers2 × 1,200 tonSteam boilers2 × 600 HPGenerators2 × 2 MW dieselStandbyCWS 85°FCWR 95°FCHWS 42°FCHWR 56°FSteam 150 psiCondensateNormalEmergencyBASCT-1CT-2CONDENSEREVAPORATORGNEATSCWPCHWPCPCoolingAir handlersHeatingHumidificationSterilizationAutoclavesCritical powerICUs · ORs
  • Steam / condensate
  • Chilled water supply / return
  • Condenser water supply / return
  • Natural gas
  • Electrical power
  • Controls (BAS) data
  • De-energized / standby

Representative schematic, not an as-built drawing. Equipment ratings are illustrative. The outage sequence is simulated and not to scale.

Energy Savings

Savings over the 30-year term.

Without the project, the health system's energy costs keep rising from today's baseline. The gap between the two curves is the savings: ENFRA projects $6.9 million in the first year and guarantees 34.4% savings over the term, which it puts at more than $354.6 million in avoided costs across all nine hospital locations.

Annual energy cost, with and without optimization

Millions of dollars per year, all nine RRH hospital locations

  • Without optimization
  • With ENFRA
  • Annual savings

Modeled illustration calibrated to ENFRA's announced figures ($6.9M projected first-year savings, 34.4% guaranteed savings, $354.6M avoided costs over 30 years), assuming a constant 34.4% saving and 3.5%/yr cost escalation on both curves. Not billing data. Source: ENFRA press release, Jan 20, 2026.1

Facilities

Two plants in Western New York.

Both facilities sit along the I-90 Thruway

United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia and St. Mary's in Rochester sit ≈ 29 mi apart in a straight line.

  • Managed facility
  • City
  • I-90 (NYS Thruway)
  • County boundary

Straight-line (geodesic) distance between the two campuses. Geography: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line & cartographic boundaries, Statistics Canada, © OpenStreetMap contributors.

UMMC, Batavia

131 beds, 900+ employees. Largest private employer in Genesee County. Sole maternity provider for Genesee and Orleans counties.11,12

St. Mary's, Rochester

Opened 1857. 13,000+ annual dialysis treatments. Behavioral health, homeless healthcare, and senior housing.13,14

Sources

  1. 1ENFRA and Rochester Regional Health Launch 30-Year Energy-as-a-Service Partnership · ENFRA, Jan 20, 2026$143.8M value, nine locations, $6.9M projected first-year savings, 34.4% guaranteed savings, $354.6M avoided costs, 52.5% expected cut in purchased electricity.
  2. 2About ENFRA · ENFRAEstablished 1919; 3,000+ employees; 29 offices; $2B+ financed EaaS projects; $87M guaranteed annual savings.
  3. 3Bernhard Rebrands as ENFRA to Reflect Energy Infrastructure Leadership and Future Growth · ENFRA, May 2025Rebrand date, 24 states, EaaS growth above 35% CAGR since 2017.
  4. 4Ochsner Health System and Bernhard Energy Asset Concession · Bernhard, 2017
  5. 5Bernhard and Hackensack Meridian Health Forge a Transformative 30-Year Energy Partnership · Informed Infrastructure
  6. 6ENFRA and Beacon Health System Partner on 30-Year Energy-as-a-Service Agreement · ENFRA
  7. 7Novant Health project page · ENFRA
  8. 8Facts and Statistics · Rochester Regional Health
  9. 9Solar Energy · Rochester Regional Health
  10. 10Rochester Regional Health solar farm · GreenSpark Solar, Apr 24, 2019
  11. 11United Memorial Medical Center · Rochester Regional Health
  12. 12United Memorial Medical Center · Wikipedia
  13. 13Hospital to mark sesquicentennial · Rochester Business Journal, Sept 13, 2007
  14. 14St. Mary's Medical Campus · Rochester Regional Health