Mass. Electric's July set of power outages caused more loss and aggravation to Tufts and the surrounding community then any other in recent memory. It is still unclear as to why both the main and backup power supply lines into the Medford area failed and caused a week of intermittent power outages lasting up to twenty hours at a time. But the impact on residents, businesses, and the University was apparent. Food was thrown out, stores were closed, and people melted without any fans or air conditioning to relieve the 90-degree heat.
Most people in Medford were able to file claims with Mass. Electric to cover expenses due to lost groceries or products. But the company claims that it would not be possible for Tufts to be compensated for its own losses, such as frozen samples in biology labs, dining services supplies, or rented generators. Though it is difficult to put a price tag on the cost to Tufts, a reasonable estimate would surely be in the tens of thousands. Given the state of Tufts' endowment, the University should pursue any reasonable legal means to recover such a large economic loss.
This is far from the first time power has been lost at Tufts; in fact, outages usually occur several times a year on campus. Some blame the deregulation of the power services industry in Massachusetts for causing companies such as Mass. Electric to sacrifice quality service for bottom line profits. While this may or may not be true, it certainly can't hurt for students to get involved in local politics and speak out about issue such as this.
The state rightly launched its own investigation into the incident through the attorney general and Department of Telecommunications and Energy offices to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Mass. Electric has also hired its own private consultant to examine the matter. The company also promised to run a new second backup line directly to Tufts. But both Tufts administrators and students need to see this incident as a catalyst for real change. If not, you may be studying at the local Starbucks sometime this semester after the library lights go out.
