As the weather turns colder and the snow begins to fall, the high prices of utilities has been looming over the heads of PSU officials.
Oil is primarily used for energy on campus. According to the N.H. office of Energy and planning, as of Nov. 10 the average price for home heating oil was $2.89 per gallon. This is down from a year ago, when the average price per gallon for heating oil was estimated at $3.12 per gallon.
Regardless of the recent dips in fuel prices, the costs of utilities on campus are expected to be higher than last year. “[The] total utility cost last year was $5,146,000,” Bill Crangle, Special Assistant to the President & Director of Environmental Sustainability said, “Our forecast for the current year is $1,121,000 more or a twenty-two percent increase in cost.”
The cost of heating oil is a large portion of the overall utility costs, “[The total] heating oil cost for [Fiscal year 2008] was $1,167,000. Our forecast for the current year is up to $1,837,000, a fifty-seven percent increase of last year’s cost,” Crangle said.
According to numbers provided by physical plant, PSU consumed 16,535. 04 barrels of heating oil in fiscal year 2008. This translates to 694,471.68 gallons of heating oil used to heat campus buildings last year.
PSU is looking into ways to make the increased bill more manageable for students, “The campus has set aside some funding to offset anticipated increased utility costs,” Steve Taksar, Vice President of Financial affairs said. Taksar took over Crangle’s position at the beginning of the semester.
Officials are looking across campus for ways to alleviate the expected increases, “We have also implemented several initiatives to lower overall utility costs such as lowering thermostat set points by two degrees, [and] turning down heat in unoccupied or unused spaces,” Taksar said.
Energy efficient competitions around campus are also being recognized as a means for better energy consumption.
As of now, most plans to alleviate the utility prices have been centered on individual means, such as the energy competition, “Do it in the dark,” which encourages on campus students to be more mindful of energy use in residence halls.
This contest deals specifically with energy consumed for the production of electricity on campus. Heating guidelines have been set for on campus buildings as a means to regulate the use of heating oil.
Langdon Woods, PSU’s LEED certified residence hall, has its in room thermostats set below seventy degrees. Each room is equipped with a thermostat with low, medium and high settings. When the thermostat is set at high, the temperature will rest at about sixty-nine degrees. Cool and middle settings set the temperature to rest at sixty-three and sixty-six degrees, respectively.
There has not been little discussion as to whether or not parts of campus will be shut down for a weekend as a means to cut down on energy consumption, “There has been minimal discussion on closing academic buildings due to the complexity of scheduling classes, use of computer labs and other specialized teaching spaces in buildings,” Taksar said.
Campus wide, officials have been looking into possibilities like pre-ordering oil, “The campus is exploring several options to pre-purchase oil as a way to avoid future price increases,” Taksar said.
It is unclear whether or not the price of utilities will directly affect the cost of student’s tuition in the near future, although energy costs are factored into student’s tuition bills, “It is unclear what the impact of utilities will have in the future right now due to volatility in the energy markets,” Taksar said.