MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A preliminary draft report obtained by WCAX indicates it could cost Vermont up to $17 billion to implement the Affordable Heat Act passed last year.
The Vermont Public Utility Commission’s Clean Heat Standard Technical Advisory Group on Thursday is getting its first look at the draft report that outlines the costs and benefits to meet the state’s greenhouse gas emission targets in Vermont’s home and business heating sectors. The report estimates the program incentive costs to make the energy switch from fossil fuels at upwards of $17.3 billion to implement by 2050 but says the total potential societal net benefits pencil out to $3.6 billion.
Those obligations were set by Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2020 which sets strict requirements to eliminate greenhouse gasses in home heating, cars, and other sectors to 26 percent below the 2005 level by next year.
Supporters of the Clean Heat Standard contend the upfront costs don’t account for savings in the long run by getting Vermonters off of the roller coaster of volatile fuel prices.
The discussions come as Vermont House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, Wednesday said Vermonters are being misled about the Affordable Heat Act by out-of-state actors. In a statement, Krowinski said that organizations like the Koch brothers super PAC, Americans for Prosperity, have been targeting Vermont voters with false claims about the legislation.
“I condemn the spread of this misinformation and the influence of dark money that aims to promote confusion and fear. Vermonters deserve to know the truth about legislation that affects their daily lives and the last thing they need is interference from bad actors,” Krowinski said. “The Affordable Heat Act is an important step in ensuring that all Vermonters have access to low-cost, reliable heat and relief from the dramatic increases in heating fuel that we see year over year. The bill, which passed in 2023, sets in motion a public rule-drafting process, and requires several important fact-finding studies, for consideration and possible action by the legislature in the upcoming biennium.”
As state lawmakers return in January, they still need to give the Clean Heat Standard rules one more approval before the program will begin.