Chain Electric Company

Forrest General Hospital’s New Power Systems

It may seem difficult to find the so-called silver lining following the worst natural disaster in United States history, but Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg has managed to snag the best outcome from Hurricane Katrina.

After going 78-hours without full power in the late August sweltering heat of South Mississippi, the hospital and its administration vowed never again to be without power. To make that vow a reality, Chief Executive Officer Bill Oliver looked to Chain Electric Company. “It was important for us to explore other means of power so that we can be prepared for any type of disaster which may occur in the future,” said Oliver.

Chain Electric, working in conjunction with Mississippi Power Company, is presently working to bring on-line a seven thousand five hundred kilowatt emergency power plant at the hospital. With this system the entire hospital can operate with full power in any situation.

“This is a roughly a $10-million project, which involves two parts,” explained Bob Chain, President of Chain Electric. “There is a new emergency generator system in place which comes on within 10 seconds of a power outage, followed by the new power plant system which -- when completed -- will come on-line within just 30 seconds,” he said. The emergency system is now operational and will operate the essential areas of the hospital. The new power plant will be operational in February 2007.

If a storm is bearing down on Hattiesburg, Forrest General Hospital will have the option to simply disconnect from its regular utility company power source. The hospital will then run completely independent without even a blink. This, in conjunction with a new water tower, will make Forrest General completely self-sufficient during a state of emergency. The new system is soon-to-become a flagship model for hospitals in South Mississippi ... beginning with the installation of two Caterpillar generators to power the Emergency Room, Intensive Care Unit, corridors, and elevators. Forrest General Hospital is a county-owned, 429-bed acute care
facility which also includes Pine Grove’s 88-bed chemical dependency and psychiatric units, a 20-bed rehabilitation unit known as Rehab Resource, and the Lowery A. Woodall Outpatient Surgery Facility.

According to Chain Electric CEO Bobby Chain, this new system is big enough to run a small city, such as nearby Sumrall or Purvis. “We had to dig a large hole 20 feet deep and then drill a 36 inch hole under Gordon’s Creek to create an opening large enough to hold a 30 inch pipe,” explained the senior Chain.

From there, Chain Electric crews laid two dozen three to five inch pipes to carry the copper wire to power the hospital. Those snaking lengths of pipe run 750 feet to the generators, which are housed in a building near U.S. Highway 49 built especially for the new power plant. “Although Chain Electric has installed many generator systems, this is a first for us to put in an entire system of this size constructed entirely by Chain Electric, using equipment owned and operated by our company and crews,” proudly exclaimed Bobby Chain.

In this area, at this time, only the Mobile Alabama Infirmary has a system of comparable size and quality. “Thanks to Chain Electric, and its technical expertise, we will have an emergency power plant in place to make us much better prepared for emergencies which occur in the future,” said Oliver.