Energy Action Network: Vermont spent about $3.3 billion on energy in 2023; fossil-fuel price swings hit households

Jared Duvall, executive director of Energy Action Network, told the Natural Resources & Energy Committee during a briefing that Vermont spent roughly $3.3 billion on energy in 2023 and that transportation fuels accounted for the largest share of that spending.

Duvall said the state's reliance on imported fossil fuels exposes Vermonters to volatile global commodity prices and large swings in household energy bills. "We do not produce any fossil fuels in Vermont. It's a 100% imported product," he said, adding that about "75 cents on average of every dollar that we spend on fossil fuel leaves the state." He presented data showing the statewide fossil-fuel bill rose from about $1.4 billion in 2020 to more than $2.5 billion during price spikes in 2021'22.

Why it matters: Duvall framed the numbers around household budgets and equity, saying the average Vermont household spends about $7,000 a year on energy but that lower-income households pay a far larger share of…