Discontent over Efficiency Vermont’s ever-growing budget boiled over Wednesday in the Statehouse. A key House committee voted for a two-year freeze on an electricity fee that funds the energy-efficiency program.
“The amount we’re investing in energy efficiency is unparalleled,” said Rep. Adam Greshin (I-Warren), who led the effort to halt its growth. “Is there any other budget in Vermont that has grown by 11-and-a-half percent?”
The House Ways and Means Committee, on which Greshin serves, voted 8-2 on Wednesday to keep the energy efficiency charge that Vermonters pay on their electric bills at its current rates until 2018. The rate is set by the state Public Service Board, but Greshin successfully amended a larger renewable energy bill to mandate the freeze.
For residential customers, this year’s fee is $0.01173 per kilowatt hour. This month, Greshin said, that came to about $9.50 cents on his $119 Green Mountain Power Corp. home electric bill.
What was remarkable about Wednesday’s move was that it won the backing of a number of longtime energy-efficiency supporters. The House Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted 7-1 to endorse the rate freeze.
Rep. Tony Klein (D-East Montpelier), who chairs the committee, said he thinks Efficiency Vermont has done an insufficient job of proving its worth to Vermonters.
“I just challenge Efficiency Vermont to change our minds, to change Vermonters’ minds,” he said.
Klein said he also agreed to the amendment in hopes of winning tri-partisan support for the overall renewable energy bill, known as RESET.
Efficiency Vermont, a state contracted program run by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, has long been a golden child of the legislature’s Democratic majority. Supporters laud the program — which coordinates and offers incentives for energy-efficiency projects — for cutting Vermonters’ energy consumption and limiting the need to expand the state’s electric capacity.
Department of Public Service Deputy Commissioner Darren Springer came to the program’s defense Wednesday. Reducing the fee will cut Efficiency Vermont’s budget by $10 million over three years, he said, but cost $20 million to $24 million in savings over 10 years.
George Twigg, director of public affairs at VEIC, joined in the program’s defense. The price for a kilowatt of energy not used is 4 cents, he said, while buying that same kilowatt on the open market would cost about 8 cents.
Greshin and others argued that the program has had too little oversight. Rep. Patti Komline (R-Dorset) asked whether Efficiency Vermont could find efficiencies in its own operations to cover the rate freeze, as other state agencies will be expected to do this year.
Efficiency Vermont operates pretty efficiently, Twigg responded.
The program’s budget was $14 million in 2003, Greshin noted. By 2015, it had grown to $52.2 million. In 2016, without the freeze, the program was slated to receive $54 million. The fee charged on residential electric customers’ bills was $0.00317 in 2003. This year, it is $0.01179.
All that money has done some good work, Greshin said, including at Sugarbush Resort, the energy-intensive ski area he co-owns.
Under state law, Efficiency Vermont is required to show that for every $1 spent, $2 is saved. Greshin argued that many programs and services, including pre-kindergarten, have similar returns but don’t get the same level of state support each year.
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I have been reviewing my Burlington Electric Bill after swapping out a lot of devices computers washing machine fridge converted to gas the stove and electric hot water heater etc etc.. and all of the incandescent and halogen lighting in my home.
Our usage yoy is going up not down WTF? I thought all of the 60-100 watt bulbs with less people in the house switched to 9.4Watt or less LED’s would move the needle a little bit but it has not not one bit in fact we show more usage on our bill, not that Burlington Electric has ever been good at accounting they have in the past been very good at over billing.
But if LED’s are a fake then what the hell I spent lots of $$$$ to be a good steward of the earth and use less. has all the energy savings begun to impact Burlington Electrics ability to bill honestly or is all the energy savings rating a sham????
Walt, I live off-grid so can assure you that LEDs are a huge savings over incandescents and CFLs. I can turn things on and off and immediately see the reading on the meter. When I used incandescents, I would have very few lights on, mostly 25 watt, sometimes 40 watts, rarely 60 watts. Electric lighting is a big drain on the system. Got LED lights which use 3, 4 or 5 watts, and now I can have numerous lights on if I want to and there is barely a blip in the meter reading.
Hope that helps to isolate why your bill is high. Sounds like it’s more about BED’s billing. What most people who are grid tied don’t seem to do is turn things off, especially at night or when you’re not using them. How many printers and computers are left on all the time? And TV sets and TIVOs and the unit that serves the computer or TV all have phantom loads so even if you turn them “off” they still draw power. Keep them on a power strip and turn the power off entirely.
Walt:
I agree with all of Annette’s suggestions.
Here are 2 more. First and most obvious, call BED and discuss the matter with them. Certainly, if there’s a billing issue, they’re the folks to deal with it.
Second, there are devices on the market called demand meters which you can use to measure exactly where the power in your house is going. The ones I’ve heard about cost around $30. It’s quite possible that BED or EEV would let you borrow one for a day or two.
I called Efficiency Vermont and said stop sending me mindless mailings comparing me to my ‘neighbors’. Talk about Big Brother! What else can some State approved entity see about me while comparing me to others? Geesh, cmon folks, let’s get going on the revolution! Similar to health insurance, us idiots need to be told what’s in our best interests. Leave me alone!
Walt, Not even sure what to say here. Changed from an electric water heater & stove to gas and your bill didn’t go down? Sorry but that just isn’t rational. Given the comment about LED’s being fake, I’m prone to thinking this is another delusional rant. LED’s use 1/10th the power of incandescent bulbs of the same light output, it’s a fact, not a liberal conspiracy. Any fool with an amp meter can test this for themselves.
If by some chance your bill really has gone up for no apparent reason, I’d say call an electrician, you’re likely going to have an electrical fire soon.