Pittsburgh System Profile

The Pittsburgh system was originally established in 1966 when the local gas company, Equitable Gas, added district energy services as a complement to its natural gas sales. In 1971, the system increased its capacity with the installation of a third boiler and a new chiller – and expanded its customer base with the addition of Allegheny General Hospital to the network.

In 1973, Three Rivers Stadium was connected to the system. In 1994, SMS Demag and The Andy Warhol Museum were connected as well, with new pipeline being laid to supply them. NRG Thermal assumed 50 percent ownership of the Pittsburgh system in 1996, becoming sole owner and operator of NRG Energy Center Pittsburgh in 1999.

When Three Rivers Stadium, which hosted both football and baseball, was demolished, the NRG Pittsburgh was selected to supply district energy to PNC Park, the new baseball stadium for the Pittsburgh Pirates. New heating and cooling equipment was added in 2000 – housed in a new annex adjacent to the main plant – to serve the new park in time for the Pirates’ season opener in April 2001.

Services provided: Steam for space heating, domestic hot water, humidification and sterilization; hot water for space heating and domestic use; and chilled water for air conditioning. In addition, value is added to the basic services by assisting customers with energy budget forecasting, building energy conservation measures and some equipment repair and maintenance.

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Area served: The north side of Pittsburgh, anchored by the Carnegie Science Center, PNC Park and Allegheny General Hospital.

Buildings on system: 30

The area served consists of the north side of Pittsburgh, anchored by the Carnegie Science Center, PNC Park and Allegheny General Hospital. These services include 30 buildings or 6.3 million square feet, with a total capacity of 240 Mlb/hr of steam; 20.4 MMBtu/hr of hot water; and 12,580 tons of chilled water.

Plant: The NRG Energy Center Pittsburgh plant is located at the south edge of the Allegheny Center area, near South Commons and Federal Street. It is equipped with two 70 Mlb/hr steam boilers; one 100 Mlb/hr steam boiler; two 2,000-ton steam-driven chillers; one 4,000-ton steam-driven chiller; and one 2,000-ton electric-driven chiller. An adjacent addition to the plant, constructed in 2000 when PNC Park became a customer, houses two 1,200-ton electric-driven chillers, a 20.4 MMBtu/hr hot water boiler and other equipment. The plant burns natural gas and No. 2 fuel oil (as backup).

Distribution network: The distribution system contains 1.7 trench miles of steam piping, 2.7 trench miles of hot- water piping and 4.4 trench miles of chilled-water piping.