The increase in energy and oil costs around the nation is placing strains on Tufts' budget. Utility costs for the Medford campus are $380,000 higher than originally predicted, and that deficit could rise to $800,000 next year if prices continue to rise.
The figures include the cost of electricity, natural gas, and two types of fuel.
"What we have here is a tremendous increase in rates for heating," Vice-President for Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Mel Bernstein said. "What's happened this year is that rates have exploded and we're going to have to pay more than we expected."
The cost of crude oil has risen substantially over the past year, and the US Energy Information Administration said in a Feb. 6 report that it expects this trend to continue. Increased energy consumption by the Tufts community is also contributing to the higher utility costs. The number of computers and appliances that students bring to school grows each year, and the creation of new programs and the construction of buildings also increases energy consumption.
"There are strains on the budget now. This is just another problem and it's not insignificant," Vice President of Operations John Roberto said.
The University estimates how much it thinks will be spent on utility costs when it formulates the budget a year a head of time. Monthly proceedings occur to project the deviance from the budget so that the administration can try to predict where the campus will stand as far as energy costs.
"While we are doing this, of course, we realize that the utility costs are going up," Roberto said. "The other units within the University are looking for cost savings to offset that. Clearly I think we're going to have to reach out to all aspects of the community to conserve."
Tufts has made an effort to reduce campus energy costs by installing energy-efficient systems when new buildings are constructed or when older buildings are renovated. Roberto also urged the community to make a collaborative effort to turn off lights when they are not needed and to consolidate the evening use of facilities to save energy.
"These ideas require us to change our habits. But we need the cooperation of the community," he said.
The administration wants to appoint a task force of students, faculty, and staff to discuss the issue but has yet to determine when it will do so.
"There is a lot of interest in getting suggestions from students, faculty, and staff," said Willaim Moomaw, Director of Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE). "We need to figure out some effective way to get that input and get it sooner rather than later."
A survey that TIE conducted last year found that most students leave their computers on when they are not in use and that both students and faculty are casual about leaving on their lights. Moomaw hopes that TIE can help launch an initiative in the near future to help conserve energy on campus.
He recommended that the University find better methods to control temperatures in buildings, install sensors for lights to automatically turn off, and replace light fixtures with more efficient light bulbs to alleviate the cost.
To help remedy the energy difficulties, groups such as Environmental Consciousness Outreach are encouraging students on campus to reduce their electricity consumption. This month, they have designed a contest among residence halls called "Do it in the Dark," and will award prizes to the hall that conserves the most electricity.
While the administration is taking the situation very seriously, a deviance from budget predictions is nothing out of the ordinary.
"In any given year there are budgetary surprises," said Wayne Bouchard, Executive Administrative Dean for Arts and Sciences and Engineering. "This is just a more significant surprise. We'll just have to find a way to deal with it."
Rising utility costs have been factored into next year's budget, which will be reviewed by the Trustees this month.
Tufts can be considered fortunate in that the northeast is not experiencing the disastrous situation that is occurring in California, where rolling blackouts have become a way of life. Suppliers on the west coast have had problems because of low gas storage capacity, and Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison, the two biggest suppliers in the area, have been on the brink of financial failure. Attempts to deregulate the electric industry in California have also run into problems.
The northeast has a large supply of heating, but prices continue to be on the rise. Despite some of the warmer weather that occurred in January, there could still be abrupt price jumps during the winter, especially if the weather turns sharply colder.
The monthly average of US imported crude oil price in January was $25.25 per barrel, which was slightly higher than the December price. Natural gas is predicted to cost more than two times as much as last winter.
