House Ways & Means Chair admonishes committee not to consider massive cost of Renewable Energy bill to ratepayers.
by Rob Roper
The House Ways & Means Committee took a short break from their frantic attempts to spackle over the disaster that is the estimated 20 percent plus property tax increase – an “unintended consequence” of previous legislative fiscal incompetence and/or indifference about what things cost – with a briefing on H.289, An act relating to the renewable energy standard.
The gist of this bill is that it will move forward the date Vermont utilities must, by law, source 100 percent of their electricity from “renewable” sources from 2032 to 2030. It also forces the utilities to buy a bunch of that electricity from politically connected donors to the majority party who happen to be in the renewable energy business. (See: Conflicts of Interest in the Renewable Energy Standard Working Group.)
The original daily agenda of the W&M Committee featured a walk-through of H.289 by legislative council, followed by an overview of the fiscal note (how much the thing will cost and who pays for it). Weirdly – or perhaps not so weirdly when you consider how these people operate — part two of this double feature was scrapped by the Chair, Emilee Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro).
In an awkwardly delivered explanation, Kornheiser went over the top to set parameters about what could and could not be discussed regarding this bill, “I don’t know if we’re going to have time to make it to the fiscal note today. We probably won’t. [She didn’t.] But what I do want to sort of preface this with is this is an incredibly complex bill with huge implications for the state, and the potential to do a lot of good in our – for our climate and for our climate resiliency. [No, it doesn’t.] However, our jurisdiction over this bill is like the narrowest of threads. Um… and so, I am hoping that we can all do our very best to just look at the implications of the revenue to the state…. I just want to say our jurisdiction and I’m hoping the testimony we take is really just going to stay narrowly on the revenue to the state. We have enough going on around here without taking on stuff we don’t need to take on.”
Translation: NO DISCUSSION OF THE BILLION DOLLAR PRICE TAX THAT WILL HIT VERMONT ELECTRIC RATEPAYERS IF THIS BILL PASSES WILL BE ALLOWED!
And since that time, the Fiscal Note has been scrubbed from the JFO website, and all references to it on the Ways & Means Committee website have also been erased. Luckily, I just happened to get a screen shot of it before it evaporated into the ether. (Scroll to the end to see the whole thing.) Here are some highlights:
Fiscal Impact. The bill would have direct and indirect fiscal impacts on Vermont. JFO estimates the direct fiscal impact to the General Fund would be about $11,000 in fiscal year 2025 and would grow to about $950,000 in FY 2035 [emphasis added]. Increased costs come from electricity rate increases on top of increased rates already expected under “Business as Usual” in the absence of the bill.
Indirect fiscal impacts. The indirect fiscal impacts described below, relative to “Business as Usual,” would occur under H.289….
- …. Slightly higher state revenues but slightly lower GDP growth, particularly after 2030, than in the absence of H.289.
- The slightly slower growth rate of Vermont’s GDP is based on two effects: economic activity would increase a bit faster due to renewable energy investments, but Vermonters’ growth in consumption would slow slightly as electricity rates rise and their spending power declines.
In a separate report done by the Public Service Department (albeit relying largely on the same data source) came to the same conclusion:
Incremental cost estimates for H.289 are driven by increased power supply costs, and increased transmission investment caused by Vermont based generation. The PSD roughly estimates these two areas to cost $1 billion to Vermont ratepayers.
So, what this means is that Vermonters are going to have to endure higher taxes, a weaker economy, and an extra BILLION DOLLARS worth of higher electric costs. All Kornheiser and her colleagues care about is the fact that this will result in “slightly higher state revenues.” The BILLION DOLLAR impact on constituents, however, falls into the “stuff we don’t need to take on” bin.
Is this sticker price worth it to satisfy whatever virtue-signal bragging rights these lawmakers think they’re going to get from changing their 100% renewable energy mandate by two years? (And, cough cough, to ensure that already wealthy Democrat donors in the wind and solar business are the only ones in the state enjoying increased economic activity?) That, of course, is the question nobody’s allowed to ask, because the answer is NO.
A better question to ask at this point would be how much is the current Renewable Energy Standard costing Vermonters in terms of electric rates, higher taxes, and lower economic growth, and should we scrap the whole thing?
This Just In: One of my crack investigators in the State House got official word that the JFO report that was pulled from sight is being “revised”. There is tremendous political pressure – as should be evident from this story – to hide the costs of these “green” programs from the public and get this bill passed without transparency or accountability. It will be curious to see if the revisions reflect VPIRG, EAN, et al talking points. Bets?
Rob Roper is a freelance writer who has been involved with Vermont politics and policy for over 20 years. This article reprinted with permission from Behind the Lines: Rob Roper on Vermont Politics, robertroper.substack.com
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Categories: Commentary
The incompetence we see at the federal, state and local municipal level is utterly shocking. To think these folks are controlling our pocket books. We need to take action at the polls before they bankrupt us. Which by the way is the plan they are working on.
the government is richer than the tax payer///
Whatever happened to the Second Vermont Republic secessionist movement?
The Dem/Prog/Leftists used to complain about the Republicans being joined at the hip to the oil and gas companies, now the Dem/Prog/Lefties do the same with the “renewable energy” donors and companies. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Both require extracting wealth from the taxpayers by force of law. At least with the Republican setup we got cheap and plentiful energy. All we will get with the Dem/Prog/Leftists is higher taxes, higher energy costs and unreliable supply with brownouts.
Legislators and other bureaucrats handling taxpayer money is like giving a junkie
drugs to hold……………. yup, it will all be gone and then they’ll want more!!
This whole renewable energy boondoggle is just that, you can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig, and this endeavor is just that………… Wake up people, they don’t care about you or your financial difficulties, their agenda is to push this nonsense.
Uh Oh. Since the side topic to Mr. Roper’s reporting is gaslighting- and ms. kornheiser, chair of House Ways & Means is the very definition of “wokester”
we now must allow whomever is “revising” this JFO report to take time out and include the newly revealed information from US HHS- Admiral rachel levine, who tells us that “climate change” TM is disproportionately affecting black communities. Simply stated, Admiral ms. levine is informing us “climate change” TM is racist.
Vermont’s wokesters and elitists along with their donors must now go back to the drawing board and add a billion dollars or so to the pot, in order to guaranty “equity” and mitigate the effects of “climate change” TM for black communities here in Vermont. After all, the requirements for racial equity are codified in the GWSA as a whole- and now new funding will need to be sought for compliance with “equity” as directed by US HHS. Remember too, that this must be accomplished by 2025- now a mere 10 months away.
ms. kornheiser has a whole lot of work to do, between her sponsorship of 2 new wealth tax bills and the conundrum that H.289 represents to black communities, due to the racism of “climate change”TM.
Of course, kornheiser and her fellow wokesters could admit defeat, just like peter
shumlin did in 2014 with his single-payer healthcare fantasy.
Okay folks…
We are talking in an echo chamber. Who wants to DO something? I spoke with Representative Galfetti yesterday and she says having “warm bodies” show up AT the State House en masse would be powerful, if planned at the right time.
So… Who’s In? Who wants to drive up to Montpelier and show them who cares about the mistakes they are making and waste they are driving up? Who really wants to make a difference?
Or are we all just a bunch of cranky old people, “armchair quarterbacks” or whatever nasty name “Chris” and other’s call us? I think we’ve been called “keyboard thumpers” or something.
Well, I’m in. I will drive 2.5 hours to Montpelier and stand outside all day if that is what it will take. I’m not sitting around b!tching any more. Well, I’m still b!tching but I want to do something worthwhile. How about you? Put your money where your mouth is.
You mean like when the State House switchboard and emails were lit up like a Christmas tree over S.5? What did they do? It is called lawfare warfare for a reason and it is the season of treason. They are hellbent like hellcats to destroy the State – they have their marching orders. How do you think it will work out for them? They are finished – God is allowing them to adorn themselves in their robes and riches…watch, just watch what happens to them as they refuse to turn from their wicked ways … nothing can stop what is coming upon them. Declared and decreed!
Pam we have attempted to do that as gun owners showing up at gun rallies and showing up at legislative sessions to testify..
There was also a group that was formed that was fighting The madness of the green new deal years ago that appeared on the state house steps with not much support at all in spite of the fact they were 100% correct about what is being done to us today..
We need to wake up as voters and need to find out who in government is our friend and who is our foe..
We have far too many people supporting rinos in the GOP who say one thing and do another.
We have our own governor bashing Donald Trump along with the head of the GOP Paul Dame doing the same with many others that signed on to remove Trump from office early to get the destruction started as soon as I possibly could.
Voters need to wake up and know exactly who they are voting for and what they support
We can no longer vote for someone just because they claim they are republican..
I am sick of people that denounced president Trump and continued to denounce him because under Trump we had one hell of a wonderful life compared to the disaster we are living under because of people like Phil Scott that voted for the Biden crime family and the CCP.
And bashing Trump continues today in spite of the damage they have already done to America..
I for one will call on all GOP candidates to verify if they are supporting Trump for president or not and then I will cast my vote based on what these people tell me…
We are constantly told that our representatives have to vote their conscience… Well you can bet your butt that i’m going to vote mine…
Please vermonters wake up do your research and vote accordingly
And do you all recall when patriots sat quietly in the gallery waiving the American flag and were told to stop or the patriots would be tossed???? The legislators hate you because they are afraid of you. You are dealing with legislators who do not care about you only your ability to fund them. Unless they can buy your vote. How many of you have written to your Dem prog rep/senator and received the party talking points. They NEVER answer your questions or address your concerns.
Thank you, Ms. Casey and Mr. Ley.
To all VDC readers/commenters: I will let Mr. Page know when our presence is needed at the State House per Ms. Galfetti. Since my own Representative is as woke as they come, I cannot work with him as he is beyond help.
But I will, even if I have to do it alone, stand at the State House at least once this session to make a point. I am working on what that point is specifically at the moment.
And as to other things, I just attended a small meeting on becoming a member of BCA or Board of Civil Authority in my town. (https://www.vlct.org/resource/board-civil-authority-toolkit) This is something we ALL can do.
I will start in my community, and I urge all VDC readers to ignore the apathy that creeps into your heart and soul and ignore the naysayers who say you are wasting your time. Doing something in pursuit of a righteous endeavor is never a waste of time or energy or spirit.
If you want to know how to do this, become a member of your town’s BCA, email Mr. Page and he will forward it to me. I will tell you how to do it or rather point you in the right direction.
Be brave, move past the apathy and the fear of the unknown. We can do it. We may not move mountains today, but by God, we will not go down without a fight.
To Ms. Casey and “NYOB”, I appreciate your comments and agree, my actions will likely not make a noticeable difference at the moment. But I will not go down without a fight. I will not allow them to blithely steal our money, ruin our lives without making some noise. If my efforts do not come to fruition, they are not without value. Nothing that is done for a good cause is bereft of value.
If you do nothing at all, then they have won. And you have allowed them to win. I do not have the financial resources to use “lawfare” against them. I will continue to do whatever I am capable of doing to make my case, our case, against them be heard.
Ranting on an online newspaper or wringing ones while b!tching to your fam/friends/neighbors while good fun, is equivalent to… speaking in an echo chamber.
I encourage everyone to do something. Every day. Doing nothing gets you nothing.
I still believe that our civilization passed its zenith some time ago and we are on the precipice of collapse but it doesn’t mean I will go quietly. And neither should you.
Respectfully,
Pam Baker