The Jaffrey Planning Board is working to integrate community feedback into a revised chapter of the town master plan energy chapter.

During a Planning Board meeting Tuesday, members reviewed potential updates to the chapter, including updates based on a community survey about energy. The board anticipates at least one more review of the update before scheduling a public hearing.

Several of the changes reflect feedback from the public, as they relate to an energy survey which was available for residents to take on the town website that gauged their energy concerns, level of concern surrounding climate change and investment in renewable energy sources.

Planning Board Vice Chair Margaret Dillon said there were 198 responses to the survey, which, compared to Jaffrey’s population of about 5,300, isn’t comprehensive, but is comparable to the number of citizens who turn out for the annual Town Meeting.

Most respondents indicated they owned their own home and are on town sewer and water. When asked about their interest in Jaffrey taking steps to reduce carbon emissions or toward committing to clean energy sources, almost 50 percent of respondents were in strongly in favor, Dillon said.

A majority of respondents also said they were either strongly or moderately concerned about the impacts of climate change in general, and specifically on the town. About 66 percent supported the town converting to more clean-energy options.

“We felt this was strong support of developing a chapter and creating an implementation plan,” Dillon said.

Those who responded to the survey indicated their highest concerns included potential additional or stronger extreme weather events and power outages. The area of highest concern was the rising costs associated with energy.

Among changes advocated in the new chapter are Jaffrey adopting a community energy plan – a matter which will be voted on at Town Meeting in March – and reviving Jaffrey’s Energy Committee to work on longer-term adjustments to how the town manages its energy.

Planning Director Jo Anne Carr noted there was an anticipation that Jaffrey residents are buying more electric vehicles, which are becoming more popular in New Hampshire.

“We’re staring to see that,” Carr said, as about 12 percent of respondents to the survey already had a hybrid or electric vehicle.

Carr said the town should also begin to look at its hazard-mitigation plans, to take into account the possibility of more or stronger weather events.

The town has also proposed doing energy audits of town buildings, which can identify ways to waste less energy, and also to provide education to community members about how they can access funding to do their own audits. About 75 percent of respondents to the survey indicated they would conduct an energy audit of their home if there was grant funding available.

 Ashley  Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.