Steam Heat

Undergraduate room charges for next year will not change from the $1555 figure announced in February despite the large increases in Harvard's heating costs resulting from a contract that the University will sign with Cambridge Steam Co. this week.

Martha C. Gefter, an associate dean of the College, said Monday that most branches of the University had anticipated the heating cost increases when writing their budgets during the past several months.

"We made some provisions to plan for an increase," Gefter explained, adding. "Whether we were 100 percent accurate. I'm not sure. I think we came out reasonably close."

The new contract--settled suddenly Friday after three years of negotiations--also contains provisions for Harvard and Cambridge Steam to jointly explore more efficient ways of heating the Yard, the River Houses, and the Business School, all of which are currently served by the company's Western Ave. plant.

Cambridge Steam Vice President Ronald F. MacDonald, who supervised the negotiations, said Monday the search for alternate long term sources of heat for Harvard was crucial to the new agreement.

"We have a mutual concern over the future of customers that size," he said, referring to the University's consumption of 98 percent of the Western Ave. plant's heat.

MacDonald refused to discuss the nature of Friday's settlement, which Harvard's head negotiator, Administrative Vice President Robert Saltonstall had characterized as surprising and unexpectedly favorable to the University, except to say that "the company was pleased, and I think the agreement was mutually pleasing."