To the editor:
House Ways & Means, with the consent of House Environment & Energy, will potentially vote later today to knowingly increase electricity costs for towns and schools, in addition to individual ratepayers.
Yesterdays’s testimony: The lead sponsor of H.289 (Renewable Energy Standard), in consultation with energy industry lobbyists, promoted the raising of electricity rates to accelerate private and investor-owned power industry development. The bill sponsor also characterized the utilities as representing ratepayers, which is odd given there would be no need for the PUC if that were true. (Interestingly, the same lobby is simultaneously seeking exemptions for power generating and distribution infrastructure from siting regulation through S. 236, a bill currently in Senate Finance.)
Joint Fiscal Office encouraged the committee chair to hear from DPS. Transmission costs, by direction, were not included by RES WG. The committee chair made it clear that costs to ratepayers were not her concern, only the revenues to the state (which come from taxpayers). Supposed savings to the state are predicated, in part, on reduced healthcare costs and fewer disaster recovery expenses from climate change mitigation, by subsidizing industrial energy through increased rates and higher electricity costs incurred at state and municipal facilities and by individual Vermonters.
Watch here:
James Ehlers
The author is a public health advocate with Vermonters for Clean Energy. A former U.S. Navy officer, he is a past recipient of the U.S. EPA Regional Merit Award for his clean water initiatives.