In the face of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives tasking the Public Utility Commission (a regulatory body of appointed officials) to do the work of the Legislature (officials elected by the people), Vermont House Republicans want the Legislature to be the decision-makers on the creation and design of a Clean Heat Standard, the Vermont House GOP Caucus said today.
In a nutshell, the Clean Heat Standard (CHS) is the most consequential change in how we heat our homes and businesses with the cost to Vermonters still unclear. Nearly every seller of heating oil, kerosene, and propane will be required to pay a compliance fee unless they can prove their customers are using less fuel.
“This dramatic shift in our home heating world will come with a significant cost to Vermonters,” said House Minority Leader, Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney). “As some Vermont families, businesses, and farms might be able to afford some of these more costly equipment changes, and some may think the higher cost of heating fuel is worth it for lower carbon emissions, there are many Vermonters who will find it very difficult to pay for the higher cost of heating fuel that will inevitably result from this change.”
“The bill as passed the House today calls for the Public Utility Commission to create, design, and ultimately implement this program,” added Rep. Jim Harrison (R-Chittenden). “This means that when costs for heating fuel increases as dramatically as it could as a result of the CHS, elected officials will be able to pass the buck to the Public Utility Commission – a regulatory body made up of unelected officials. After all, it will not have been the Legislature that ultimately put the CHS into action. There will be zero accountability for our elected officials.”
“We had an opportunity today to assure Vermonters that we, as their elected officials, will determine the future of the Clean Heat Standard,“ concluded McCoy. “And we refused to do so. We passed the buck to a group of unelected, unaccountable individuals.”