Department of Public Service gives 'Electricity 101' briefing to House Energy committee, highlights affordability, grid evolution

Montpelier — TJ Forr, director of regulated utility planning at the Vermont Department of Public Service, briefed the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 29 about the structure of Vermont’s electric sector, results from public engagement on energy priorities, and the regulatory framework that governs utilities and the grid.

Forr told committee members that the presentation was intended to “level set” and avoid policy debate for the day while preparing legislators for future program-level discussions. He described the department’s statutory mission to represent the public interest in energy, telecom, water and wastewater matters and said those duties flow from Title 30 and Vermont’s Comprehensive Energy Plan.

The briefing summarized state goals from the 2022 Comprehensive Energy Plan, including a 90% renewable-energy target across sectors by 2050, and an annual update the department provided to the committee on Jan. 15, 2025. Forr said the department conducted extensive public engagement in 2022–23 — including a statewide poll of 700 randomly selected Vermonters and a series of focus groups — and reported that three priorities rose to the top: affordability,…