Office of Lt. Governor David Zuckerman
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28th, 2024
Contact
Lisa Gerlach
Chief of Staff, Office of the Lt. Governor
(802) 636-7047
Lisa.gerlach@vermont.gov
NEWS: Statement from Lt. Gov. Zuckerman on H.289
MONTPELIER, Vt: On Wednesday, Lt. Governor David Zuckerman released the following statement regarding H.289, an act relating to the Renewable Energy Standard:
“Yesterday, Governor Phil Scott released a statement claiming that H.289 ‘could cost Vermonters $1 billion over the next decade.’ H.289 is the product of four months of work by environmentalists, business groups and utilities to chart an affordable path to a 100% renewable energy future.
“This fear-invoking claim is based on crude cost estimates from the Department of Public Service that ignore many of the cost saving parts of H.289. DPS’s estimate is also drawn from a VELCO report that was meant to ‘[serve] as a long-range planning document, not a project-specific cost estimate.’1 The flawed modeling used for DPS’s estimates greatly overinflate the fiscal impact that H.289 will have. Those who are deeply involved with the bill and its impacts indicate that the costs would be a fraction of the Governor’s inflammatory estimate.
“Additionally, it is important to recognize that we have had not one, but two summers with major floods in the past 12 years. Those floods destroyed thousands of homes, decimated many businesses, and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The reality is that the costs of inaction are far greater than the costs of action. It is deeply unfortunate that the Governor continues to use a thought process from the past without taking into consideration the changes that we are experiencing in the present.
“H. 289 has gained consensus support from Vermont’s leading environmental organizations and nearly all of the state’s utility companies in part because it removes the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 160,000 cars off the road at a relatively low cost to ratepayers. The Governor’s objections to this bill are not echoed by the Vermonters who work every day to control utility costs and build energy reliability and resilience for their customers.
“The Governor has continuously vetoed common sense, consensus climate legislation. Furthermore, he is using flawed data to fearmonger about the cost of addressing the climate crisis. I hope in the future the administration will put its energy towards collaborating with those who are dealing with the real consequences Vermonters are experiencing every day. We have already experienced that the costs of inaction are far greater than the cost of preparing for the new normal.”
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1 VELCO's 2024 Vermont Long-Range Transmission Plan analysis