Once again, members of the Boston College community are asked to play an active role in significantly decreasing campus electricity consumption this summer. These efforts will help the University to do its part to increase the reliability of the electical grid.

By lowering campus electricity consumption during peak usage periods, Boston College will help to avoid area power outages, which can be dangerous to at-risk populations such as the elderly, people managing medications that require cooling, and those susceptible to heat-related illness.

During heat waves, the organization charged with overseeing grid operation for New England, ISO NE, will be forecasting the highest electrical usage by monitoring the grid.

Because customers are assigned a monthly charge throughout the year based on their power consumption during summer usage peaks, reducing electricity during these periods can help to significantly lower the University's electricity costs for the entire year.

"It’s not often that you can help the larger community and also help Boston College at the same time,” said Terence Leahy, director of Engineering & Energy Management. "Every dollar we save on electricity is better used to support the University’s programs."

These peaks are likely to occur on multiple summer afternoons. Based on modeling predictions, BC administrators will receive notice from the utility company the day before and will in turn notify the University community by noon on the day of expected peak demand through a campus-wide email, as well as on BC News and through other channels.

On a peak demand day, members of the community will be asked to minimize consumption of electricity as much as possible during specified hours. In particular, everyone is asked to:

●    Close windows;
●    Close curtains and blinds;
●    Turn off and unplug individual coffee makers, device chargers, printers, copiers and other electronic equipment not in use;
●    In offices with thermostats, raise the setting to 75 degrees;
●    Turn off office lights;
●    Plan ahead for peak days: run large print or copying jobs and charge devices in the morning so the equipment can be turned off if necessary in the afternoon;
●    Check unoccupied offices and other spaces to ensure minimal electrical consumption.



To supplement individual efforts, Facilities Management is working behind the scenes to achieve additional campus-wide reductions.


University Communications | Summer 2022