Vermont Governor Phil Scott’s weekly press conference today focused on Senate Bill 5, a proposal known as the Affordable Heat Act, which the Republican governor opposes.
Under Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2020 the state must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to specific target levels. The plan includes adoption of what had originally been called the Clean Heat Standard to address the thermal sector. The bill is now titled the Affordable Heat Act.
Governor Phil Scott said his administration agrees with many of the measure’s objectives but disagrees with the methods to meet reductions.
“While I support the work to reduce emissions, we’ve got to be realistic about what’s achievable, consider the very real workforce challenges we face and make sure we don’t harm already struggling Vermonters in the transition. I’m an advocate for the transition to electrification. I believe there will be long-term savings as a result. But we cannot ignore the fact that there are significant upfront costs which could be regressive and harmful to low-income Vermonters.”
Administration officials say that advocates and legislative proponents of the bill have failed to evaluate costs, grid capacity and the impacts on low-income Vermonters. Public Service Commissioner June Tierney:
“One of the things that I have found troubling about the discourse to date around this bill has been the failure to look at specific facts and to acknowledge when facts don’t exist.”
Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore has testified before legislative committees regarding the administration’s concerns about the bill. She provided a cost estimate and despite what she says was considerable criticism of her assessment by bill supporters, she stands by the analysis.
“To date my concerns and my cost estimate have been largely dismissed by the Legislature and advocates as scare tactics. I see this as unfortunate. My goal in developing a ballpark estimate was to highlight what was missing from the discussion: careful consideration of the upfront cost of making big changes in how we heat our homes.”
The governor invited Steven Richard, a master electrician and owner of Richard Electric, Inc., to discuss installation of electric heat pumps, which are expected to be a key way to convert homes from fossil fuel use.
“The average cost of installing these systems, residential systems, are more in the range of five to ten thousand dollars. That would not include the cost of upgrading the electrical service. If you’ve got to upgrade the service, you’re in the range of an additional three to six thousand dollars on top of these other numbers. The grid is questionable. From the people I talk with at the utilities I don’t see where the grid is able to add all these loads.”
