MONTPELIER – One of the highest stakes games in the Statehouse this year is the move toward what's known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard, which is a requirement that electric utilities in Vermont have a certain amount of energy come from renewable resources like wind and solar.
The House Natural Resources and Energy Committee has taken extensive testimony on the idea, which is designed to spur the development of renewable energy. Shumlin said in his State of the State address that he wants to enact an RPS. And the quasi-judicial Public Service Board also recommends the idea, and has put forth a proposal that could add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of electricity over a 20-year period. (That's in the context of about $10 billion that Vermonters are expected to spend on electricity during that same period.)
But when it comes to the cost and effectiveness of an RPS, the devil's in the details, and the Shumlin administration hasn't put a proposal on paper for the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee to dissect to determine how it might affect electricity rates.
And the cost to ratepayers in any proposal is a king – both practically and politically.
Lawmakers were clearly getting a little antsy Wednesday morning as they listened to testimony from Asa Hopkins, who's with the Department of Public Service.
“I want to consider the rate impact of a specific proposal,” said Rep. Tony Klein, chairman of the committee.
“Even if there are all these variables, you've got to have a starting point,” echoed Rep. Betty Nuovo.
It's unclear when exactly the administration will offer its RPS plan.
– Thatcher Moats
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