Are you planning any home improvement projects … even something small like planting a tree, installing a fence, deck or a mailbox? Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional, a safe job starts with a call to DigSafe at 811.  Homeowners often make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked, but every digging job requires a call – even small projects!

It is a risk to make faulty assumptions about when to notify DigSafe.  That is why most states require you to notify DigSafe before you dig.  The depths of utility lines vary, and there may be multiple utility lines in a common area.

Knowing where underground utility lines are buried before you dig can potentially avert tragedy. Remember to:

• Pre-mark where you plan to dig.
• Call 811 with location information.
• Wait for local utility representatives to respond to mark their lines within the pre-marked area.
• Maintain the marks during the project, if marks are compromised for any reason call 811 again.
  
  

Learn more on the DigSafe website.

The MassSave program can help just about everyone in Massachusetts save money on energy bills, including homeowners, renters, landlords, businesses and schools.  It offers incentives on energy efficient appliances, including Energy Star-certified appliances, as well as free energy assessments, courtesy of a certified energy specialist.   MassSave also provides a series of rebates, discounts, and loans for energy efficient products in Massachusetts homes and business.

Home Solutions

• Residential Rebates and Incentives
  Rebates for appliances, heating systems and more

• No-Cost Energy Assessments
  Better energy efficiency = greater savings + improved comfort

• Income Based Offers
  Based on your household income, find out if you are eligible for no-cost or discounted energy efficiency services.

• No-Cost Home Energy Assessments for Renters (1-4 Units)
  Rebates, incentives, and special offers can add up to big savings.

• Residential Renovations and Additions
  Incentives for upgrading single-family or multi-family homes (3 stories or less)

• Rebates and Incentives for Multi-Family Properties (5+ Units)
  Own or manage a property with five or more units? Take advantage of this special money-saving opportunity.

• Residential High-Rise New Construction Incentives and Rebates
  For multi-family buildings (4 stories or more)

• Passive House Incentives
  Take Energy Efficiency to a New Level

• Passive House Training
  
  

Business Solutions

• Business Rebates & Incentives
  Energy efficiency aligned to business objectives.

• Services and Financing
  Services and Expertise to Improve Energy Performance

• Business Applications, Brochures and Design Guides
  

• Business Mass Saver Blog

Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.

National Grid’s Climate Commitment

We know that helping society to decarbonize is the biggest contribution we can make to the environment. As an infrastructure business, our day-to-day activities also result in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  We know that we can save money and help combat climate change by reducing our GHG emissions. This will strengthen our company by reducing costs and making our business fit for the future.

In Our Contribution, we set ourselves a target to reduce our emissions by 80% by 2050, and 45% by 2020, from a 1990 baseline. We have far exceeded our 2020 target, reducing our emissions by 70% already. 

This has been achieved through a range of initiatives across the UK and US business, backed up by specific internal targets. We have applied carbon pricing to our investment decisions and reduced the carbon intensity from our construction schemes. Other emission reduction activities include programs to replace leaking gas pipes, modernizing the electricity transmission infrastructure to reduce energy losses, and increasing the energy efficiency of the consumer energy use in the US.

Next steps and our Responsible Business Charter

We are proud of what we have achieved to date, but there is much more we can do. We believe we have a responsibility to lead the way and help drive emissions down across the energy sector. That is why, after reviewing our emissions targets, we have decided to further our commitments and ambitions in our Responsible Business Charter, with a target to achieve net zero by 2050, alongside interim targets of reducing our footprint by 80% by 2030 and 90% by 2040, from a 1990 baseline.

In the UK, our Electricity Transmission business has set a target to achieve carbon neutral construction by 2026 on all projects, whilst Gas Transmission are applying this to all major projects. The Electricity System Operator has also committed to be able to fully operate Great Britain’s electricity system with zero carbon by 2025.

In the US, all our major projects utilize carbon pricing in the evaluation of alternative options. In 2021 we developed a baseline carbon intensity for such projects and set reduction targets in 2022. What are we doing to be a responsible business? What are society’s expectations, and how are we living our vision, purpose and sharing our values to achieve these goals? Our Responsible Business Charter is split into five sections (our environment, our communities, our people, our governance and the economy) where we dive deep into our commitments and the steps we are taking as a company to serve our worldly community and ecosystem.

This will require some big engineering and strategic changes. We have set a number of global emissions targets to address some key areas, including insulating gases (SF6), our operational fleet, office energy use, business air travel and emissions from the electricity and gas we sell to our customers. We will continue to implement carbon pricing on our investment decisions and continuously review our performance across the business.

Renewable energy is energy from sources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited; renewable resources are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time. Renewable energy can play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Using renewable energy can reduce the use of fossil fuels, which are the largest sources of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. renewable energy consumption will continue to increase through 2050.

Find out more information on Sources of Renewable Energy.

The Conference of Parties (COP) is an annual UN Climate Change conference where international leaders discuss environmental goals, advancements, and obstacles that prevent nations from furthering their progress. National Grid participates through hosting several panel discussions, fireside chats, and posting monthly company updates. This site also contains links to learn more about EV power, a carbon intensity app titled WhenToPlugIn, and a voice assistant app that can help you make more sustainable decisions

Worcester Energy is one of a handful of companies that developed a map of the local LEED certified buildings in Worcester. The level of certification is denoted by either a gold, silver or star icon placed on the site of each LEED building. Likewise, PlugShare is an excellent resource to check out if you are interested in finding a nearby charger for Electric Vehicles. As of June 2022, Worcester has 59 chargers for public use and 350 total in Worcester County.

Interested in learning terminology relating to Environmentalism? Or perhaps you’re interested in energy-efficient technologies? There are many great resources to study online! Quizlet is an excellent resource, given it serves as a study tool for thousands of high school and college students. There are sets of textbook questions and individually designed study sets to meet individual needs. You can search for any topic using keywords and Quizlet will list a set of suggested questions. Click here for a sample set we created. There are also study sets created by different organizations, such as the Sustainable Business Network.