“The Clean Heat Standard would cost hundreds of Vermonters their jobs. And it could leave thousands of Vermonters scrambling to find a new heating fuel provider if they could find one at all.” – Rep. Sally Achey
By Guy Page
The Clean Heat Standard passed the House yesterday by a 96-44 vote. The bill forces Vermont fossil-fuel dealers to either install non-fossil-fuel heating systems or pay others to do it.
H715 would create ‘clean heat credits.’ Each credit would represent a specific amount of clean energy. Each fossil-fuel dealer would be assigned a set amount of credits to retire. To do so, fuel dealers would be required to either install low-carbon heating systems, or else pay the value of the credits. These payments would then fund low-carbon heat installation by others.
The Clean Heat Standard is the Legislature’s effort to transition traditional fossil-fuel heat in homes and businesses to lower-carbon heat, including wood pellets, weatherization, and electric heat pumps.
Earlier this year, some fuel dealers told the House Energy and Technology Committee the Clean Heat Standard would put them out of business. Others said it could double homeowners’ cost of propane. The Clean Heat Standard program would be administered through the Public Utility Commission (PUC), the State of Vermont’s appointed ‘energy court.’
“Roughly 80% of these fuels sold in Vermont are bought through wholesalers in other states or Canada, and we have no authority or ability to force them to buy Vermont credits,” Rep. Sally Achey said in a VT Digger commentary explaining her opposition. “The only alternative was to stick a whole bunch of local mom-and-pop fuel dealerships with the mandate to buy credits. We heard testimony that these requirements would drive many of them out of business. It also makes administering an already unwieldy system even more complicated. The Clean Heat Standard would cost hundreds of Vermonters their jobs. And it could leave thousands of Vermonters scrambling to find a new heating fuel provider if they could find one at all.”
Before voting yes, the House yesterday rejected 44-96 an amendment by Rep. James Harrison (R-Mendon) to wait until first seeing the results from a March 15, 2023 report on projected costs and benefits of the Clean Heat Standard.
H715 now proceeds to the Senate. Here’s the roll call:
Achey of Middletown Springs Nay
Ancel of Calais Yea
Anthony of Barre City Yea
Arrison of Weathersfield Yea
Austin of Colchester Yea
Bartholomew of Hartland Yea
Beck of St. Johnsbury Nay
Birong of Vergennes Yea
Black of Essex Yea
Bluemle of Burlington Yea
Bock of Chester Yea
Bongartz of Manchester Yea
Bos-Lun of Westminster Yea
Brady of Williston Yea
Brennan of Colchester Nay
Briglin of Thetford Yea
Brown of Richmond Yea
Brownell of Pownal Absent
Brumsted of Shelburne Yea
Burditt of West Rutland Nay
Burke of Brattleboro Yea
Burrows of West Windsor Yea
Campbell of St. Johnsbury Yea
Canfield of Fair Haven Nay
Chase of Colchester Yea
Christie of Hartford Yea
Cina of Burlington Yea
Coffey of Guilford Yea
Colburn of Burlington Yea
Colston of Winooski Absent
Conlon of Cornwall Yea
Copeland Hanzas of Bradford Yea
Corcoran of Bennington Yea
Cordes of Lincoln Yea*
Cupoli of Rutland City Nay
Dickinson of St. Albans Town Nay
Dolan of Essex Yea
Dolan of Waitsfield Yea
Donahue of Northfield Nay
Donnally of Hyde Park Yea
Durfee of Shaftsbury Yea
Elder of Starksboro Yea
Emmons of Springfield Yea
Fagan of Rutland City Nay
Feltus of Lyndon Nay
Gannon of Wilmington Yea
Garofano of Essex Yea
Goldman of Rockingham Yea
Goslant of Northfield Nay
Grad of Moretown Yea
Graham of Williamstown Absent
Gregoire of Fairfield Nay
Hango of Berkshire Nay
Harrison of Chittenden Nay
Helm of Fair Haven Nay
Higley of Lowell Absent
Hooper of Burlington Yea
Hooper of Montpelier Yea
Hooper of Randolph Yea
Houghton of Essex Yea
Howard of Rutland City Yea
James of Manchester Yea
Jerome of Brandon Yea
Jessup of Middlesex Yea
Kascenska of Burke Nay
Killacky of South Burlington Yea
Kimbell of Woodstock Yea
Kitzmiller of Montpelier Absent
Kornheiser of Brattleboro Yea
Krowinski of Burlington Not Voting
Labor of Morgan Absent
LaClair of Barre Town Nay
LaLonde of South Burlington Yea
Lanpher of Vergennes Yea
Laroche of Franklin Nay
Lefebvre of Newark Yea
Lefebvre of Orange Nay
Leffler of Enosburgh Nay
Lippert of Hinesburg Yea
Long of Newfane Yea*
Marcotte of Coventry Nay
Martel of Waterford Nay
Masland of Thetford Yea
Mattos of Milton Nay
McCarthy of St. Albans City Yea
McCormack of Burlington Yea
McCoy of Poultney Nay
McCullough of Williston Yea
McFaun of Barre Town Nay
Morgan of Milton Nay
Morgan of Milton Nay
Morris of Springfield Yea
Morrissey of Bennington Nay
Mrowicki of Putney Yea
Mulvaney-Stanak of Burlington Yea
Murphy of Fairfax Nay
Nicoll of Ludlow Yea
Nigro of Bennington Yea
Norris of Sheldon Nay
Norris of Shoreham Nay
Notte of Rutland City Yea
Noyes of Wolcott Yea
O’Brien of Tunbridge Yea
Ode of Burlington Yea
Page of Newport City Nay
Pajala of Londonderry Yea
Palasik of Milton Absent
Parsons of Newbury Nay
Partridge of Windham Yea
Patt of Worcester Yea
Pearl of Danville Yea
Peterson of Clarendon Nay
Pugh of South Burlington Yea
Rachelson of Burlington Yea
Rogers of Waterville Yea*
Rosenquist of Georgia Nay
Satcowitz of Randolph Yea
Scheu of Middlebury Yea
Scheuermann of Stowe Nay
Shaw of Pittsford Nay
Sheldon of Middlebury Yea
Sibilia of Dover Yea
Sims of Craftsbury Yea
Small of Winooski Yea
Smith of Derby Nay
Smith of New Haven Nay
Squirrell of Underhill Yea
Stebbins of Burlington Yea*
Stevens of Waterbury Yea
Strong of Albany Nay
Sullivan of Dorset Absent
Surprenant of Barnard Yea
Taylor of Colchester Yea
Terenzini of Rutland Town Nay
Till of Jericho Yea
Toleno of Brattleboro Yea
Toof of St. Albans Town Nay
Townsend of South Burlington Yea
Troiano of Stannard Yea
Vyhovsky of Essex Yea
Walker of Swanton Nay
Walz of Barre City Yea
Webb of Shelburne Yea
White of Bethel Absent
White of Hartford Yea
Whitman of Bennington Yea
Williams of Granby Nay
Wood of Waterbury Yea
Yacovone of Morristown Yea
Yantachka of Charlotte Yea