House Appropriations hears Department of Public Service budget; federal funding uncertainty, $29M home rebate and terminated $62.5M solar program highlighted

The House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 5 heard a presentation from the Department of Public Service outlining its fiscal 2027 budget request, ongoing federal funding uncertainty and program-level shifts, including the termination of a federal solar program and a proposed $29 million home energy rebate.

Speaker 4, a presenter from the Department of Public Service, told the committee the department’s fiscal 2027 request includes $12,600,000 in special fund spending authority and about $18,500,000 in federal funds, with roughly $16.3 million of that federal authority intended for grants and programs. "The home electric rebate program, 29,000,000," Speaker 4 said, describing it as funding that would be granted to OEO for low-income home authorization.

The presenter also reported that a federal administration had terminated a $62,500,000 "solar for all" program the department had been preparing to deploy. "We worked with the attorney general's office to ... work on the documentation for suing," Speaker 4 said, adding that litigation is pending.

Committee members questioned staffing and program details. Speaker 4 said the department totals about 64 positions and explained plans to convert one limited-service position to a permanent classified director for the admin services division. The presentation identified a small number of one-time budget pressures—most notably a comprehensive energy plan and the cadence of updates to the 10‑year telecom plan. Speaker 4 said the department has accounted for the comprehensive energy plan, estimated at roughly $500,000, and argued that lengthening the telecom-plan update cadence could reduce recurring costs (the presentation estimated roughly a $500,000 price tag to update every three years).

On funding sources, Speaker 4 explained much of the department’s special fund revenue comes from a gross receipts tax paid by utilities and net metering fees. The presentation noted that some funds—such as a radioactive waste compact-related fund tied to legacy Vermont Yankee activities—function as pass-throughs rather than recurring revenue.

The committee also asked about remaining ARPA funds. Speaker 4 said about $130,000 remains, fully encumbered or allotted to GMP, and expected invoices would be processed for expenditure in the near term.

A committee member raised results from market studies about heat pumps and electric-efficiency programs. "The heat pump evaluation shows their use less than savings are less than expected," Speaker 3 said; Speaker 4 acknowledged the devices reduce greenhouse gas emissions but said consumer bill savings depend on user behavior and timing of use, prompting the department to reassess deployment strategies.

The session closed with the committee asking the department to provide additional slide material and follow-up answers for posting. Speaker 1 said staff would circulate materials via Autumn for public posting. The committee did not take any formal votes during the hearing.

Next procedural items announced included the Agency of Agriculture at 9:30 a.m. and the Center for Crime Victim Services at 10:15 a.m. on the following day.