Efficiency Vermont tells committee its programs cut customer bills, supported workforce and expanded beyond light bulbs

Efficiency Vermont managing director Peter Wolk told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 30 that the organization’s 25-year work has produced large customer and system benefits and is shifting toward broader thermal and equity-focused programs.

Wolk said Efficiency Vermont was set up as the nation’s first energy efficiency utility and is run by the nonprofit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. He told the committee the utility’s work is funded primarily through a small charge on electric bills known as the energy efficiency charge and by grants such as proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Wolk gave a topline accounting: roughly $867 million collected through the efficiency charge over 25 years, which he said has yielded about $3.3 billion in lifetime customer savings and roughly 14.1 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent reductions—“the equivalent of taking 3.3 million cars off the road,” he said. He also said Vermont electricity bills are about 31% lower than the New England average in part because of efficiency investments.

Wolk described how Efficiency Vermont’s services go beyond rebates for light bulbs. He outlined three primary customer…