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By Paul Bean
Senator Anne Watson (D-Washington) on Wednesday introduced S.65, expanding on Efficiency Vermont’s authority to meet the mandated carbon emissions reduction goals.
Some of the bill’s measures were criticized by the chair of the Public Utilities Commission as unnecessary and “duplicative” of other state energy programs.
The bill is introduced as legislators struggle to adopt the Clean Heat Standard, enacted to implement carbon emissions goals. As noted by Behind the Lines columnist Rob Roper, lawmakers currently appear stalled on whether to hold an up-or-down vote to proceed with the GWSA.
“The money that we give to Efficiency Vermont has certain rules around it that can be used,” said Senator Anne Watson in an interview outside the Senate committee room. Efficiency Vermont was established in 2000 to help Vermonters reduce energy costs and environmental impact through electrification and weatherization.
“So particularly, hearing from the Governor’s budget address that he was interested in shifting Efficiency Vermont’s mission to being more climate oriented, it felt like a great opportunity, and bipartisan opportunity to take on the work of seeing if we could use the same of money and align it towards our climate goals,” continued Watson. “Also, use that money for more equitable purposes, particularly because everybody through their electric bills is paying into Efficiency Vermont. What we learned from the Energy Burden Report is that people with lower incomes have less of a chance really to get some of that benefit through rebates and what not.”
Efficiency Vermont is operated by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), a nonprofit, under contract with the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC). It provides technical assistance, financial incentives, and education to households, businesses, and communities across the state.
Renewable-minded legislators are looking to battery storage as a way to provide electricity as needed from intermittent solar and wind power. Vermont currently has a small infrastructure of grid-level battery storage, deemed by critics as too expensive. S.65 would use Efficiency Vermont money to create more.
Under S.65, Efficiency Vermont would provide “for the development, implementation, and monitoring of gas and electric energy efficiency, and conservation, electrification, active demand management, and energy storage programs.”
Edward McNamara, chair of the PUC warns that getting Efficiency Vermont involved in energy storage, or creating a new organization that works towards similar goals would not be cost-effective or sustainable because there are existing programs currently working on this.
“I think in Vermont, we tend to see a program that works and then either double down on it regardless of whether it’s the same work, or we take something else and slap it on top because we don’t wanna get rid of the existing program, So we end up with duplicate programs,” said Edward McNamara, Chair of the PUC in testimony to the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.
“That’s my concern. We have an existing program and slap something else down over here that affects the existing program, but we don’t look at the existing program,” McNamara continued.
“You have folks doing storage. I don’t know why storage is mentioned in S.65. I don’t think it’s necessary. Load control programs are also being implemented, especially on the electric vehicle level by the utilities. Leave that with the utilities largely because storage and load control in particular can have significant impacts on electric utility systems…The duplicative nature of some of this work is a significant concern because you’re paying twice for essentially the same service.”
“What S.65 is saying is okay now, some portion of that money that ratepayers are paying in, isn’t going towards electric efficiency, reducing electrical use. It’s going to go to reducing carbon fuel use,” Sen. Scott Beck told VDC outside the Senate committee room following McNamara’s testimony. “They’re basically saying, we should be using some of this money for thermal reduction, instead of 100% for electricity reduction.”
See all bills assigned to this committee here. Constituents may contact committee members (click link on name for bio, party affiliation, etc.) with comments, questions and information at the following email addresses:
Anne Watson, Washington County, Chair, awatson@leg.state.vt.us
Terry Williams, Rutland, Vice Chair, Twilliams@leg.state.vt.us
Ruth Hardy, Addison, rhardy@leg.state.vt.us
Seth Bongartz, Bennington, sbongartz@leg.state.vt.us
Scott Beck, Caledonia, sbeck@leg.state.vt.us
All committee transcripts are available at www.goldendomevt.com. Committee meeting video available at the committee’s YouTube channel. The committee meets in the morning in Room 8.
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Categories: Energy, Legislation, Uncategorized
The government is unqualified to reduce any emissions of anything. The government is the number one most wasteful polluter on earth.
Top things government can do to reduce carbon emissions:
– Remove illegal 3 day gun waiting period save over 1,000,000 gallons of burnt fuel in 10 years
– Employ remote learning for education save over 3,750,000 gallons of burnt fuel in 10 years
– Digitize and automate government paperwork services such as DMV save over 12,250,000 gallons of burnt fuel in 10 years
– Remove all non 100% absolutely necessary government agencies/agents/activities/committees/NGO subsidies; and save so much money that the people will be able to afford their own carbon reduction ideas, which would be better than any “one size fits no one, and does nothing” government ideas.
– Stop subsidizing electric vehicles, who’s weight cause wear and tear, and who’s emissions and toxic releases are enormous compared to conventional transportation.
I could go on for hours with things similar to the above suggestions.
“I think in Vermont, the legislature will see a program that doesn’t work and then either double down on it regardless of knowing it won’t work, or we take something else and slap it on top because we don’t wanna get rid of the existing program, So we end up with duplicate programs,”
Just had to fix the quote, make it truthful…..
The programs that don’t work, well they just throw more money at it so that it still doesn’t work, it just costs more.
Battery storage is a boondoggle
https://youtu.be/GPFgi6rJ4Z0?si=EyjVkc1bljBi6mtr
Re: “Efficiency Vermont is operated by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), a nonprofit, under contract with the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC). It provides technical assistance, financial incentives, and education to households, businesses, and communities across the state.”
Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), has annual revenues of $123 Million. $42.5 Million goes to administrative salaries, compensation and benefits. Additionally, there are $67.2 Million in other salaries and wages paid. In total, $121 Million pays various VEIC salary and benefit costs – that’s 98% of its revenue. VEIC’s CEO earns $330,000 per year in salary and benefits. It’s remaining top ten executives average over $200,000 per year in salaries and benefits.
According to VEIC’s 990 tax return, virtually nothing of its annual revenue goes to actual ‘financial incentives’. Those dollars all come from the Vermont legislature. VEIC simply convinces the legislature to shell out the additional money.
Never mind that thousands of scientists and researchers are trying to tell us that CO2 benefits the environment far more than its purported adverse effect on our climate.
So, while VEIC claims that its management and consultation eliminate about one ton of human CO2 emissions per capita each year, it charges us $197 per ton for the advice it gives us. And for that, Vermonters get to see their energy costs continue to increase more and more.
Now that’s efficiency, Vermont. Tsk. tsk.
IS EV a nonprofit company? Where do/did they get finding? thanks for educating me that all those rebates offered is just our tax money.
This was very informative information. Thank you. EV robs from the poor to give to the richer. I have no choice but to pay the charge on my electric bill. I remember being very angry at the charge because I needed a prescription and could not afford to get it . EV has collected money from us for years but we have never benefited from it We sent in rebates for efficient appliances but never received a rebate. We did receive a survey about how we like the services at EV. I could never afford a heat pump or an electric car. It grieves me that all the employees of EV get excellent health benefits while I go without.
Thank you for this information. Since its inception, I’ve believed Efficiency Vermont and VEIC to be the biggest rip off scam forced on Vermonters. Are they still giving away cheap low flow shower heads to Vermonters as a way to “reduce our carbon footprint”? Why does 98% of VEIC’S revenue go toward salaries and admin?
Because the for-profit (nonprofit) VERMONT Energy Investment Corp, has expanded its operations beyond the state. VEIC has been involved in designing energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in North America and WORDWIDE. It operates THREE large-scale energy efficiency programs in the United States, including Efficiency Vermont. VEIC has established energy efficiency programs in other regions, such as the District of Columbia Sustainable Energy Utility (DC SEU) in Washington, D.C., and Efficiency Smart in Ohio.
Get out your hard-earned money and pay up Vermont. Or go and tell your representatives that you no longer want to be scammed by a bunch of carpet- bagging worthless profiteers.
Yes. Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (dba Efficiency Vermont), is a nonprofit. It receives the majority of its funding (over $100 Million annually) from Vermont Efficiency Utilities, a subsidiary of the Vermont Public Utilities Commission. Where the PUC gets its money remains to be seen. I suspect its a combination of State and Federal grants (i.e., taxpayers). And I further suspect that the DOGE boys and girls have federal grants in their scope. So, we’ll likely be hearing about all sorts of travails resulting from federal funding cuts… which will, of course, clarify how much Vermont taxpayer funds have been channeled to EV.
Again, you can see Vermont Energy Investment Corporation’s financials by looking up it IRS 990 Return.
With a known fact,Vermont ‘s carbon footprint is less than 1/10th of 1%,why is a so called carbon goal still being considered?’ Former Vermont Representative Charles Wilson
I’m pretty sure that number doesn’t include all of our plants, trees, soil/water bacteria, fungus, carbon eating landmass. I’m willing to bet Vermont is WAY negative.
The house and senate will have to stay all summer to solve all of these problems they have created. Being stupid can turn into a full time job. Good pay, free food card. free housing, and paid transportation costs and they want to thank you smart taxpayers for paying the bill.
Vermont needs a DOGE douche…Big Time.
It’s all about creating bigger government not actually doing anything productive
“Efficiency Vermont is operated by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), a nonprofit, under contract with the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC). It provides technical assistance, financial incentives, and education to households, businesses, and communities across the state. ”
The overlords of our utilities are thieving grifters. They should not exist or have any control over our utilities. How many layers of bureaucrats and grifters does it take to turn on the lights, heat your home, or have internet? How much money have they stolen while all our bills never go down at all in decades!?
Perhaps this should be sent to DOGE – a lot of Federal funding sent to their hog trough. No honor among thieves.
VEIC, is a non-profit: “VEIC was founded in 1986 by Beth Sachs and the late Blair Hamilton. As a nonprofit organization, the company had a clear mission: to reduce the economic and environmental costs of energy use. VEIC’s unique program design concepts caught the attention of utilities and governments across the country—especially small, resource-strapped governments. By the end of the company’s first decade, VEIC had delivered consultancy services in 18 states and 6 foreign countries.
In Vermont, VEIC introduced the idea that energy efficiency should be a matter of state law, with a single third-party program administrator regulated like the electric utilities. In 1999, the Vermont General Assembly created the nation’s first statewide, regulated “energy efficiency utility,” Efficiency Vermont. VEIC bid for and won the contract, which we continue to administer to this day.
Vermont Public Utility Commission: “The Public Utility Commission is a three-member, quasi-judicial commission that supervises the rates, quality of service, and overall financial management of Vermont’s utilities: electric, natural gas, telecommunications, and private water companies. The Commission also supervises cable television companies, although federal law preempts most authority to regulate cable rates or programming. The Commission also reviews the environmental and economic impacts of proposals to purchase energy supply or build new energy facilities; monitors the safety of hydroelectric dams; evaluates the financial aspects of nuclear plant decommissioning and radioactive waste storage; reviews rates paid to independent power producers; and oversees the statewide Energy Efficiency Utility programs.