The city of Medford in February signed a contract with an energy procurement consulting firm run by a Tufts master's student that will help it renegotiate its energy contracts and save a projected $1.6 million in the next three years.
The deal with GridSmart Energy, whose president is Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) master's student Michael Adler, comes as part of a broader municipal movement to support environmentalism and energy efficiency.
Energy procurement firms such as GridSmart work with mass energy users, such as municipalities and corporations, to secure the cheapest and least risky deals with energy suppliers, according to Adler.
Renegotiating energy contracts is part of a three−pronged approach to energy efficiency and environmentalism supported by Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn, according to Carey Duques (G '06), Medford's energy and environmental director and environmental agent. The city's approach also includes upgrades to buildings to improve energy efficiency and incentives for its residents to shift away from wasteful behaviors, Duques said.
This will mean switching all traffic lights in the city to more energy−efficient LED lights and building a wind turbine behind the McGlynn Middle School as a "beacon of environmentalism," Duques said.
Energy procurement firms like GridSmart began to form in 1997 after most states on the Eastern Seaboard restructured and deregulated their energy markets, Adler said. Prior to 1997, companies could not negotiate for different energy suppliers because the suppliers also owned the supply lines, a practice known as vertical integration, he said.
Since large energy users can now buy energy on the open market each month, GridSmart and other similar firms act as facilitators between the users and the energy market, Adler said.
"Often people are in energy agreements they don't understand that are heavily slanted against them," Adler said. "In many instances it's about price and getting a better deal, but other times it's about getting a less risky or more transparent deal."
Adler worked with Medford using the same process he uses for all of GridSmart's clients, he said. He compiled the city's electricity and natural gas bills, related data and evaluated usage and costs, and then used this information to negotiate new contracts in the energy market.
McGlynn told the Daily that, with Adler's help, the city will save over $375,000 per year.
"He has a strong understanding of the energy market and is working hard to make sure that the city of Medford has fair contracts that save money in the long run," McGlynn said of Adler.
Adler became involved in Medford's energy usage while interning with the city of Salem as a part of his program at Tufts.
Medford was looking for a new energy procurement firm when GridSmart entered into a competitive bidding competition for the city's contract, Adler said.
"We're able to give the city twice the services for half the price," Adler said.
The city chose GridSmart because Adler would devote more time for less money, and educate the city's energy staff while in the process, according to Duques.
"It started with just talking to Adler and understanding where he was coming from and the service he was going to be able to provide with as much one−on−one time as possible," Duques, who earned a master's degree from the UEP program, told the Daily. "He's able to give us the time, and educate us along the way."
GridSmart has over 50 clients representing $100 million in energy costs, according to Adler. Notable clients include Yankee Candle, Enterprise Bank Corp and the city of Lancaster, Adler said.
