Utilities outline storm‑hardening, undergrounding and storage plans to bolster grid resilience

Green Mountain Power, Washington Electric Cooperative and other Vermont utilities told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 24 that they are expanding storm‑hardening work — including targeted undergrounding, higher‑strength spacer cable on main feeders and new energy‑storage deployments — to reduce outages and speed restoration after increasingly intense weather.

Committee members heard that recent events have delivered larger, wetter winter storms and higher wind speeds that break traditional restoration models and raise costs for customers. "Since that day, we have had 50% of our storm costs in the last 13 years since December 2022," said Michael Burke, a Green Mountain Power representative, describing an uptick in storm damage and restoration expense after a December 2022 wet‑snow/wind event.

Why it matters: utilities said more frequent heavy wet snow, ice and storm clusters are producing repeated, costly outages — especially in mid‑elevation and heavily forested rural areas. Utilities described a mix of short‑term response practices and longer‑term investments meant to cut restoration time and lower the recurring price of storm response.

Most urgent actions and how restoration proceeds

Presenters explained that restoration follows a consistent, safety‑first sequence: clear road access for emergency vehicles and crews, restore transmission and substations, then repair main distribution feeders and…