Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration, Tufts University, and Local Leaders Highlight Energy Affordability Legislation

MEDFORD — Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper and Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn joined Tufts University and university leaders from Greater Boston to discuss energy affordability challenges for their institutions and key provisions from Governor Maura Healey’s Energy Affordability, Independence, and Innovation Act. The legislation’s provisions to advance geothermal heat loops and interconnection reform would help both universities and all ratepayers unlock savings on their energy bills, while also supporting local housing affordability. Tufts University hosted the convening, and representatives from MIT, UMass Lowell, HEET, and PowerOptions joined the conversation. 

“As some of our state’s largest employers and energy users, Massachusetts colleges and universities have been on the frontlines of energy innovation, but current law is costing them,” said Secretary Tepper. “Allowing large institutions like Tufts to work with their local utility to build geothermal heating and cooling, as well as connect to the grid efficiently, will take significant strain off the grid. This means lower bills for Tufts and all ratepayers who will not need to subsidize additional energy and infrastructure. These are the kinds of win-win scenarios we can advance with Governor Healey’s comprehensive affordability legislation. We’re grateful to university leaders from around the state for their support and input as we work to lower bills and save residents money.” 

“The need for climate action is urgent and colleges and universities want to lead by example. To do so, we need modern laws and regulatory frameworks that foster cost-effective implementation, and we need access to capital that will allow us to continue to dedicate our resources to researchers who are devising climate solutions and developing the next generation of leaders,” said Dano Weisbord, chief sustainability officer and executive director of campus planning at Tufts University. 

Governor Healey filed the legislation in May, focused on getting costs off bills, bringing more energy into the state, and supporting customers in securing energy savings. An independent analysis found that the legislation would save ratepayers at least $13.7 billion over 10 years.  

Many colleges and universities across the state are exploring geothermal heat loops, but face challenges in financing the upfront costs and operating the systems. Geothermal loops are the most efficient form of heating and cooling technology and are ideal for large campuses, hospitals, industrial parks, and housing developments. Governor Healey’s legislation will allow gas companies to own and operate heat loops for individual customers, such as universities and hospitals. Customers could pay for the heat loops over time, without subsidies from other ratepayers or Mass Save, thereby reducing the need for electric grid investment and supply. Paired with safety and labor provisions related to utility geothermal work, the legislation will create good paying jobs and ensure the safe operation for employees and the public. This provision could save hundreds of millions in energy costs for both customers that leverage geothermal heat loops and all ratepayers. 

"Here in Medford, with housing and energy costs on the rise, our residents and businesses are struggling to keep up with the high cost of living,” said Mayor Lungo-Koehn. “We’re grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for helping us tackle both – getting costs off bills, and also advancing the kinds of commonsense energy proposals that will help us get housing and student residences built faster. Medford is proud to be home to world-class universities like Tufts that drive this conversation forward.” 

Another provision that would result in significant savings for both large customers, like universities, and their surrounding communities is flexible interconnection reform. When a new customer, both consumers and generators, wants to connect to the electric grid, the utility calculates the impact based on the maximum anticipated amount of energy the customer will put on or take off the grid. This calculation is done without considering if the customer can be flexible regarding when or how much they use the grid. This lack of flexibility leads to project delays and significantly increased costs for customers seeking to connect. The legislation would require electric utilities to provide flexible interconnection solutions to reduce customer costs and timelines for interconnection, at no cost to other customers. This would have the added benefit of allowing new development – including new dorms and residence halls – to interconnect faster, getting new housing online and reducing demand for limited affordable housing supply. 

“Each UMass campus represents a unique opportunity to advance the Commonwealth’s energy, decarbonization, climate tech, and economic development goals by virtue of their geographic locations and areas of distinction,” said Ruairi O’Mahony, Senior Advisor Climate, Energy, and Sustainability, University of Massachusetts Office of the President. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Healey-Driscoll Administration, and our public and private partners across the state, to promote energy affordability, lead the discovery, deployment, and enhancements of emerging energy technologies, and educate the Commonwealth’s energy and sustainability workforce of tomorrow.” 

"Smith is proud to be installing a campus-wide geothermal energy system. What makes this project especially exciting is that it’s grounded in research by our own students and faculty, and it will significantly reduce emissions, improve comfort, and lower long-term operating costs,” said David DeSwert, Smith College, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration. “That said, institutions like ours still face real challenges in deploying large-scale sustainable infrastructure. Chief among them is access to innovative financing tools that make it possible to move quickly on major capital investments like this. We support legislation that helps unlock these solutions and benefits all ratepayers across the Commonwealth through cleaner, more affordable energy." 

“Today’s conversation underscored the critical role that institutions like colleges, universities, and municipalities can play in accelerating the transition to a more affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy system,” said Tina Bennett, CEO of PowerOptions. “The Energy Affordability Bill opens new doors—not just for cost savings, but for deploying innovative solutions like geothermal and on-bill financing that were previously out of reach for many public-serving organizations. At PowerOptions, we’re excited to help our members navigate these opportunities and turn policy into progress.” 

"Recently a World Bank leader referred to the gas utility built geothermal network in Framingham MA as an idea or tool that unlocks the sleeping giant that is geothermal and fundamentally changes the global potential to deliver affordable, safe, and reliable local clean energy to all of us,” said Zeyneb Magavi, Executive Director of HEET. “Our Governor's legislation is a whole tool shed of such ideas that ensures Massachusetts can prioritize both affordable energy today AND an energy system that allows us to be a leader in the economy of tomorrow." 

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