With work to prepare the electric system to support Eversource’s transition to smart meters nearly complete in Western Massachusetts, the energy company is alerting customers that crews will begin upgrading meters in the next few months.
Eversource will begin installing the first smart meters at customers’ homes and businesses in late July and continue through the following months.
Eversource will send customers in Western Massachusetts a series of notification letters approximately 90, 60, and 30 days in advance of work to install smart meters starts in their community.
In addition to helping customers better manage their energy use and speeding power restoration outside storms, smart meters will enable Eversource to start or end a customer’s service remotely when they move in or out of their home, eliminating the need to schedule a crew to come out. Customers will also be able to sign up to receive high-usage alerts if the amount of energy they use exceeds a set threshold based on their historical energy usage and other notifications.
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Monson Savings Bank donated $10,000 to Revitalize Community Development Corp. in support of its upcoming 2025 #GreenNFit Neighborhood Rebuild event.
Revitalize CDC, based in Springfield and founded in 1992, is a nonprofit that provides repairs and rehabilitation to the homes of low-income families with children, military veterans, the elderly and people with special needs — all at no cost. Its mission is not only to create safe, healthy homes but also to improve residents’ physical and emotional wellbeing through initiatives like asthma prevention interventions and their Nutrition Rx program that combats food insecurity and chronic health conditions.
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Berkshire Bank Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Berkshire Bank, invested more than $400,000 in communities through grants and other giving in the first quarter of the year.
Pioneer Valley organizations were among the 118 nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont that the foundation supported from January to March.
Tech Foundry Inc. in Springfield received $2,500 for its information technology support training program.
YMCA of Greater Springfield Inc. received $2,600 for a variety of programs including its summer camp and learning center classroom project.
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The Springfield Library Foundation and PeoplesBank announce a $10,000 grant from the bank to support the Springfield City Library’s Summer Reading Program.
Thanks to this grant, this year’s program, called “Level Up At Your Library,” will feature expanded activities for children and other users throughout Springfield at the library’s nine locations as well as with other community partners.
The Summer Reading Program will host all-ages kickoff events throughout June, with a system-wide Adult Summer Reading Kickoff party on June 12 at the Mason Square Branch. The program will conclude with an all-ages, citywide End of Summer Celebration on Aug. 23. All participation is free and open to the public. For more information, visit https://www.springfieldlibrary.org.
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Westfield Bank will hold four shred events this year. In efforts to help the community dispose of personal information properly, the bank has partnered with ProShred Security to provide a free shred event, with a limit of five boxes per person.
The next event will be held at the Holyoke branch, at 1650 Northampton St., on Saturday, June 14, from 9 a.m. to noon. To see the full schedule of shred events, visit westfieldbank.com.
