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Briefing covers energy‑efficiency utilities, telecom and cable rules, and where consumers can lodge complaints
Summary
At a Jan. 22 briefing, legislative counsel said Vermont has three energy‑efficiency utilities, cable operators pay a 5% franchise fee that funds PEG channels, and consumers with utility complaints can use the Department of Public Service assistance page.
Maria Royal summarized other regulated sectors for the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee, including energy‑efficiency utilities, telecommunications (voice), cable television, and private water/wastewater providers.
She said Vermont’s energy‑efficiency programs are funded by an energy‑efficiency charge on customer bills and that three named entities deliver those programs: Efficiency Vermont, Burlington Electric, and Vermont Gas. Efficiency Vermont also permits some commercial and industrial customers to self‑manage efficiency programs using mechanisms such as energy‑savings accounts and self‑managed credit programs.
On telecommunications and cable, Royal said voice telephony remains regulated in certain respects, but broadband is not regulated as a utility in Vermont. Cable television companies operate under certificates of public good and pay a statutory franchise fee; Royal said Vermont charges a 5% franchise fee on gross cable revenue and that the proceeds are used for public, educational and government (PEG) access programming through entities such as the Vermont Access Network.
Royal noted that consumer assistance for utility complaints is available through the Department of Public Service and that committee staff would circulate the DPS consumer assistance webpage to members for sharing with constituents. She added that certain consumer complaints—such as those involving delivered fuel dealers (for example, propane suppliers)—are typically handled by the attorney general’s consumer protection office because those sellers are not regulated utilities.
Royal also flagged crosscutting themes that arise for all regulated industries: affordability and low‑income programs, equity and access, resiliency and reliability for weather events, cybersecurity and data privacy, and federal‑state overlaps (for example, FERC for wholesale electric markets and the FCC for telecommunications). The briefing did not produce committee action; it was educational in nature.
