Energy Advisory Board

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The initial charge in 2012 from the Mayor to the Energy Advisory Board (EAB) was to advise the City of Milford on how to achieve the City’s goal of reducing its energy use by 20 percent by 2020.  To achieve this, the EAB developed a baseline report of energy use for all municipal facilities in 2010 and for all the years since then.  This report was prepared by students and faculty at the University of New Haven, with funding from United Illuminating.  The report showed that the City of Milford easily achieved this reduction of energy use several years before 2018, through the efforts of the Milford school system; switching from oil to natural gas for heating in City buildings; and energy upgrades such as the installation of LED fixtures, motion sensors, and an energy management system in the Parsons Government Center.  The City and the EAB continue to monitor Milford’s municipal energy use and further reductions in energy use are being achieved.

The EAB has also led efforts to promote the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of Milford residents through two rounds of the Solarize CT program.  Through these programs, 94 households have installed solar PV systems.  Altogether homeowners in Milford have installed over 850 PV systems to date.  The EAB has conducted an Environment and Energy Fair at the Milford Library, which was very well attended and provided Milford citizens with a chance to learn about the many activities related to the environment that are occurring throughout the City.  Board members have also been involved in the selection of the installer for the City’s microgrid and state-wide energy task force efforts to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.

In 2017, the Mayor authorized the EAB to expand its focus beyond municipal facilities to encompass all town-wide energy-consuming activities in Milford – including commercial, industrial, residential, and transportation activities.  This expanded focus of the EAB is just beginning to be developed but has already led to the involvement of the EAB in the broader program of Sustainable CT, which has been authorized by a resolution of the Board of Aldermen of the City.