Harvard Ousts Boston Edison

Harvard has decided to take the problem of skyrocketing utilities rates into its own hands.

The Medical School, along with ten other related medical institutions in the Brookline Ave.-Huntington area, has plans to build a $48 million power plant that by 1977 would provide electricity, chilled water, steam and refuse incineration to all participating institutions.

The plant, which needs Boston Redevelopment Authority approval before it can be built, will also supply steam and chilled water for 775 units of low-and moderate income housing to be sponsored by Harvard on nearby Mission Hill to accommodate any residents dislocated by construction of the power plant.

A draft environmental impact study on the planned power plant's neighborhood released recently by the BRA said the power plant will have minimal impact on the area and will save the institutions involved about $1.9 million a year over what they would have to pay to Boston Edison for supplying the power if the plant is not built.

But Boston Edison officials contest both this figure and the impact study's conclusion that the power plant would cause less pollution than if Boston Edison were to deliver the power in conjunction with the institutions.

The biggest point of contention on Boston Edison's side, however, is the tax revenue generated by the plant.

Harvard is claiming tax exemption on the plant, although the University is still willing to pay the city of Boston hefty in-lieu-of-tax money.