Lowering Energy Costs

Remember when Vermont was the leader on energy and the environment? I want us to be a leader again.

A sensible Vermont energy policy will start by saving energy and saving money and lead us towards lower cost, renewable, Vermont based power sources. Since the cheapest energy is energy we do not use, we should continue to invest in efficiency and other ways to reduce energy use. We must also make ourselves more energy independent. We can do this. But we have to work together at the local as well as state level to make it happen.

I know many Vermonters building renewable energy businesses in Vermont. They are helping create a better energy future and creating good jobs at the same time. We should support these entrepreneurs and businesses so we generate jobs and clean power. I imagine Vermont could become the home to the electric car industry, research, development and manufacturing, much as we have been home to significant players in wind, solar and other renewables. 

Unfortunately we have been losing too much time and money by not acting on good energy policy. For example, an opportunity to buy hydro dams on the Connecticut River was blocked by the Douglas Administration. They could have provided us a local, Vermont controlled source of clean, renewable energy. Now they are worth twice the asking price but are owned by a Canadian company, selling power to Massachusetts. On another front, the Douglas Administration derailed efforts to invest more in energy efficiency in 2007. While we will likely make progress in ’08, it is more wasted time and money. “Efficiency Vermont” has been a national model when it comes to saving electrical energy and money for businesses, homeowners and farms. We should be building on this model and developing others.
 
We should be planning now for the shut down of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant. We should be coming together to find jobs for Yankee workers and ways to replace that power now, before it is too late. And we should demand that the Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Fund be fully funded. 

We all know how the price of gasoline has soared, along with the oil company profits. And we know that the same has happened to the price of heating fuel. Along with energy efficiency, serious efforts to develop public transportation will help. But we have a lot to do. Energy is clearly one of the major factors driving the cost of living in Vermont. We can reduce these costs for businesses and homeowners, while at the same time, protecting our environment and making Vermont an even better place to live and work.  We can do it.