May 16, 2025
Understanding short circuit behavior is critical to designing safe, reliable power systems.
Healthcare facilities today face unprecedented pressure to plan for power disruptions and infrastructure upgrades. Aging transmission lines, soaring energy demand from data centers, and evolving sustainability mandates have made resilience planning more complex than ever. For hospital leaders, planning for energy resilience is no longer a future consideration—it’s a present-day imperative.
Here we explore the often-overlooked complexities of long-term power resilience in healthcare settings, offering a pragmatic look at what successful planning and maintenance entail. We examine the technical, regulatory, and cultural pressures reshaping utility decisions—and why delays can expose hospitals to unacceptable risk. Drawing from industrial best practices that are increasingly relevant to healthcare, we outline a phased, step-by-step approach to building resilience without disrupting care.
Technical, Regulatory, and Cultural Pressures That Complicate Utility Decisions
External forces—grid limitations, stakeholder perceptions, and state regulations—are influencing internal infrastructure decisions. Failure to navigate these forces effectively can leave hospitals exposed to both operational and financial vulnerabilities.
Limitations of the national grid have made long-term power resilience an urgent priority for healthcare facilities. Aging infrastructure, particularly transmission lines, has triggered nationwide efforts to upgrade substations and lines. Meanwhile, electricity demand—fueled by the proliferation of data centers and electronics—continues to rise, increasing the likelihood of brownouts.
Public pressure to pursue sustainable energy solutions can steer institutional decision-making in directions that aren’t always fiscally sound.
Financial incentives such as investment tax credits (ITCs) and state or federal grants can support sustainable power adoption—but only if healthcare leaders act quickly. These opportunities often come with deadlines, requiring that a certain percentage of construction be completed by a specific date.
Assessing What to Back Up—and How Much
Hospital leaders don’t always know which systems require backup—or how much backup capacity they truly need. The first step is conducting targeted interviews and questionnaires to assess anticipated growth, outage history, and critical service needs.
Based on this data, facilities can create tailored backup strategies aligned with realistic thresholds. Decision-makers must identify which components truly need backup support—not all areas require it.
Keeping Systems Up to Date
Many facilities operate critical systems well beyond their intended lifespan without sufficient inspection or upgrades. Routine, code-mandated inspections such as energy piping assessments and arc flash testing are often delayed or overlooked.
The ideal maintenance strategy is threefold: conduct routine inspections, initiate timely repairs when issues are identified, and plan for upgrades based on equipment efficiency and projected return on investment (ROI).
Performing Maintenance and Upgrades Without Disrupting Care
Because even brief outages in healthcare environments can have severe consequences, system upgrades and maintenance must be planned with surgical precision. The most effective approach involves phased isolation supported by accurate, up-to-date single-line diagrams for both piping and electrical systems.
Work can be scheduled during low-risk periods, and pre-fabrication can shorten outage windows. This approach reduces emergency shutdown risk and avoids steep costs of unplanned repairs.
Balancing Sustainability with Practicality
To guide facilities toward sound choices, compare existing systems and proposed upgrades using ROI-focused analysis. Proactive engagement with evolving state and federal incentive programs can help healthcare leaders avoid the financial penalties of indecision.
Planning is power
The future of healthcare resilience depends on decisions made today. With expert guidance and a long-term perspective, healthcare leaders can ensure their facilities remain operational during crises and thrive amid an increasingly uncertain energy future.
Kristi Vilminot, P.E., is Director of Engineering – Power Generation & Energy with Commonwealth Associates, Inc., and can be reached at Kristi.Vilminot@cai-engr.com.
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