News and information for staff members and the Madison community
Vol. I No. 3 - January 19, 2006
Have you gotten your December heating bill? If not, brace yourself. Local utilities have been warning consumers for months about the impending 40-70% increase in heating costs.
Imagine the heating bill for 4.4 million square feet! The Madison Schools spend over $5,000,000 annually in utility costs, and about half of this goes to pay winter heating bills.
On the bright side, we are seeing higher than average January temperatures so far, and prognosticators are predicting the average January temperature is going to be higher than normal.
The prices for natural gas fluctuate with crude oil prices, even though there is very little real world connection. We are still seeing the effects of Hurricane Rita (more natural gas facilities were shut down due to Rita than Katrina,) as some of the natural gas production is still not back on line (18% still off-line).
Given the dynamics of the natural gas market, MMSD makes bulk natural gas purchases in advance to hedge the market in an attempt to avoid price spikes and mitigate higher costs. Still, it is difficult to insulate ourselves from the realities of high energy costs.
To give you an idea of price variance, last year December gas was trading at $6/dekatherm, and this year it is $11/dekatherm.
MMSD did budget contingency money to cover the forecasted price increases. But we must continue to budget more and more for utilities, which means fewer resources for the direct education of our children.
To help educate the next generation on alternative energy sources, MMSD has partnered with MGE and the States Focus on Energy to install solar photovoltaic cells and solar water heaters at several locations. More information is available on the Building Services web site.
What can you do to help? Turn lights off when no one is in the room, and keep windows and doors closed in the heating season.
It is important to be conscious of energy issues. Every dollar saved in utility bills is a dollar that does not have to be cut from some other program.
Open windows add to heating costs and impact the budget. Please keep windows and doors closed in the heating season. Turn lights off when no one is in the room, even for a short time period.
Last Updated: Tue Mar 28 12:16:54 2006
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