Vermont hearing spotlights H.753 to curb utility shutoffs, expand medical protections and require plans to reduce disconnections

MONTPELIER — Lawmakers heard broadly aligned testimony Feb. 4 in favor of House Bill H.753, a proposal to tighten protections against utility service disconnections by expanding medical‑certification rules, adding safeguards during extreme heat events and requiring gas, electric and water utilities to file plans showing how they will minimize involuntary residential shutoffs.

Supporters said the proposal, which would change existing PUC rules and utility reporting, is a first step toward reducing the social and public‑health harms of disconnection and improving affordability for low‑income and medically vulnerable Vermonters.

"House Bill 7 53 is one of the most important ones," said Earl Hatley, an enrolled citizen of the Abenaki Nation and president of the Odukeechee Water Protectors Association, who described the bill as part of a just‑transition approach that must address both environmental and affordability harms. "We need to minimize mining and reduce energy use, but we also need to ensure people can afford to stay connected."

Hatley told the committee he supports statutory limits on the share of household income spent on utilities — citing 6 percent to 10 percent caps used elsewhere — and described personal difficulty accessing weatherization assistance after being denied Efficiency Vermont aid for being about $5,000 over the program cutoff.

Jim D…