VT Public Service Department to Update the Comprehensive Energy Plan

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July Forums Intended to Solicit Public Input on Vermont’s Energy Future

Montpelier ­– The Public Service Department will be holding a series of four public forums around the state in July to solicit Vermonters’ thoughts on how the state can meet its energy goals – and energy needs – in the coming years. The input will inform the next revision of Vermont’s long-range, Comprehensive Energy Plan. A final plan is due to the Legislature in December.

“In 2011, Vermont established a widely supported goal of getting 90 percent of our energy from renewable sources by 2050. Now, we want to hear more from Vermonters on how they think we should prioritize possible pathways and tools to meet this important goal,” said Asa Hopkins, the PSD’s Director of Energy Policy and Planning.

The state plan, which was last updated in 2011, will also incorporate some of the findings of the Total Energy Study, completed by the PSD last year. One of the PSD’s goals for the updated plan is to establish nearer-term targets that balance technology constraints, cost, carbon considerations and community concerns. The PSD will also host a series of forums, soliciting further public input, when a draft is available. Those will likely take place in September and October.

“We’ve made tremendous progress in advancing our renewable energy and energy efficiency goals, while keeping energy costs stable and low, and there is still more progress to be made,” said PSD Commissioner Christopher Recchia.

The forums run from 5:30 pm to 8 pm. (Refreshments start at 5:30 and the official program starts at 6.)

Dates and locations for the regional forums include:

  • July 9 – Woodstock (Billings Farm and Museum)
  • July 16 – Middlebury (Town Hall Theater)
  • July 20 – Manchester (Manchester Community Library)
  • July 23 – St Albans (Bellows Free Academy)

The events are co-hosted by the Vermont Department of Public Service, Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission, Addison County Regional Planning Commission, Bennington Regional Commission, Northwest Regional Planning Commission, and the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network.

For more information on the CEP, visit: https://www.energyplan.vt.gov or contact VECAN Coordinator Johanna Miller at 802-223-2328 ext. 112 or [email protected].