A political campaign, in many ways, is series of conversations. It is an opportunity for those of us who serve in elected office to listen very carefully to the people we serve.

It also provides a basis for voters to measure how well we listened, and how faithfully we’ve acted. The vast majority of Vermonters I listened to last autumn told me their most pressing concern was the high cost of living in our state. They made it clear; they want action.

The high cost of heating fuel and transportation is a big factor in affordability anxiety for most Vermonters, including me.

I believe in investing money to save energy. I bought a smaller car to save on gas. I also had a home energy audit by Efficiency Vermont, and paid for the improvements they suggested. Although Efficiency Vermont is an electric utility, we now save on both natural gas and electricity, because of their recommendations.

There is a bill moving through the legislature now, S.94, that would create a new “efficiency utility”. The utility would work like Efficiency Vermont, except it would cover more than just electricity. One proposal in the bill would impose a new tax on home heating fuel. I support the creation of an “All Fuels Efficiency Utility” but I oppose a new tax.
Some years ago, my electric utility did a total energy audit on the duplex where I lived. They recommended we convert our electric water heaters to gas heaters and reinsulate the entire building. They gave me a pre-approved list of contractors, materials and equipment to do the work, and a pre-approved 5-year loan to pay for it. I signed up. As a result of the improvements, I saved money on my electric bill and gas bill -- more than enough to pay off the loan for the investments, with money to spare. The electric company saved because they did not have to build more generation. My contractors were happy to get the work. This is how an All Fuels Efficiency Utility could work.

But it should not require a new tax; government can provide the charter and oversight, but let’s let the market provide the capital for the investments.

I will support the creation of an All Fuels Efficiency Utility with the following conditions:

1. The Public Service Board maintains oversight of the utility and puts it out for competitive bid every 5 years, to ensure competitive pricing and innovative ideas.

2. The customer repays the utility for the cost of improvements plus interest. Structured properly, these payments could come from money saved on fuel. Loan payments would recycle through the utility to finance the next project. Seed money from the Clean Energy Fund could finance the utility’s start-up. Funds generated by interest would make it self-sustaining. In fact, as markets see financial value, the All Fuels Efficiency Utility should be able to raise funds from investors.

3. As a goal, no less than 90% of the utility’s funds would be dedicated to direct investment in fuel savings, keeping overhead at 10% or less.

4. Individuals or companies, like IBM Essex Junction, who already use best practices in efficiency, could qualify for tax credits by mentoring other individuals or companies.

5. The utility would be accountable for performance to measurable objectives, and would operate with clear and transparent financial reporting.

As Amory Lovins said when he spoke in Montpelier earlier this year, “Saving energy is cheaper than buying it.” That’s why, he said, companies like IBM, DuPont, British Petroleum and Texas Instruments are leaders in efficiency investment and know-how. Efficiency saves money. That’s why my brother and I installed an upgraded boiler in our sugarhouse and burn one third the fuel we used to burn. It saves money. The investment you make in energy efficiency should leave you with more money, not less.

That’s why I propose a value-driven model for our All Fuels Efficiency Utility, not a tax-driven model. No one assigns more value to “a dollar saved” than a frugal Vermonter.

Vermont, home of the Green Valley, would be the first in the nation to create an All Fuels Efficiency Utility that is competitive, and lean in overhead. It would create jobs and foster savings in heating fuels and transportation fuels for homes, apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and businesses, and for all kinds of fleets, from school buses to delivery trucks to contractors’ heavy construction equipment. As new fuel-saving technologies gallop out of the research labs and into the marketplace, Vermonters can be the first to adopt them.

Some of the money we now send to foreign oil producers will instead stay in Vermont, as we increase energy independence and security. That’s good for our state, and good for our nation.

And it’s a responsible answer to the voters who told me, and every office-seeker last fall, that affordability in Vermont should be Job One.