(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers.)

By Joseph A. Curtatone

Taking a closer look at notable city data—and interesting numbers. 

$4.9 million saved: In July 2017, the City established Somerville Community Choice Electricity to offer lower electricity rates and more renewable energy sources to local residential electricity customers. Because the program also locked in an electricity rate for 30 months, the hope was that it would also save ratepayers money—and it has. By June 2019, Somerville Community Choice Electricity customers will save a total of $4.9 million. That works out to an average savings of $145 per residential account.

Down 16%: Since fiscal year 2014 (fiscal years go from July 1 through June 30), Somerville has reduced energy use in municipal buildings by 16%. We’re working toward a goal set by the State’s Green Communities program to reduce our municipal building energy use by 20% by the end of fiscal year 2019. While we’ve made a lot of progress with energy efficiency measures, we also know we’ll be facing challenges going forward. Perhaps the biggest challenge to an overall reduction in energy use is the addition of municipal space. When the new high school is complete or if the City were to add additional office space, our overall energy use will likely increase, which would lead to a smaller reduction percentage.

$1,025,000 in grant funding: From fiscal years 2014 through 2018, Somerville has received over $1 million in Green Communities grant funding that has been used for a variety of energy reducing measures, including installing public electric vehicle charging stations, getting more efficient indoor lighting, and installing temperature controls in the high school. Along with grant funding, the City has also invested in energy reduction measures like purchasing electric and hybrid vehicles for our fleet, converting streetlights to LED bulbs, and converting old oil heating systems to gas.

10% of emissions goal: Somerville has a goal of being carbon neutral citywide by 2050. The most recent numbers show a 10% reduction in emissions. When we set this goal, we knew it would be ambitious and it would take everyone’s effort to achieve. We’ll all need to think about how we use energy in our homes, during our commutes, and in other aspects of our lives. And once you start thinking about it, you realize how intertwined our environmental goals are with many other City and community goals, including the addition of housing and jobs called for in SomerVision. For example, if you’re able to live near your job, it becomes much easier to commute by walking, biking, or taking public transportation.

1/3 of Somerville greenhouse gas emissions: It’s a statistic we talk about a lot, but it bears repeating – 1/3 of Somerville’s greenhouse gas emissions come from personal car trips. We can’t completely get rid of car trips; there will always be people who need to drive for their job or because of their physical abilities. But, there are also many of us who see driving as the most convenient choice and that’s where we can have an impact. Over the past several years, the City has been working on ways to make walking, biking, and using public transportation the easy choice. We’ve installed bike and pedestrian infrastructure to increase safety. We’re looking at ways we can help the MBTA provide more reliable service, like installing bus priority lanes where we can. And many of us have spent years advocating for the Green Line Extension, which we estimate will take 25,000 cars off the road each day and will put 85% of Somerville residents within a half mile of a train stop.

Data-based decision making is at the core of how the City of Somerville develops policy and sets priorities. Every day we check the latest 311 stats, and throughout the week we meet for in-depth review of departmental data and city trends. The Data Download column shares some of the data we’ve been reviewing recently, as well as interesting updates. To see more Somerville Data, visit the online Somerville Data Farm at www.somervillema.gov/datafarm.