Peter Wach of Efficiency Vermont urges careful coordination on S.219 before House committee

Peter Wach, managing director of Efficiency Vermont, testified to the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee that lawmakers should be cautious about creating a new, stand‑alone energy‑navigation program without first aligning and evaluating existing efforts referenced in S.219.

Wach told the committee that the principal barrier for residential energy projects is cost — “Over 57% named the cost of a project as the number 1 barrier” — and that a close second is uncertainty about how to start, including which contractors to call and which audit recommendations to prioritize. He described Efficiency Vermont’s work to support weatherization agencies, virtual home energy visits and other navigation services intended to move customers from interest to completed projects.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed Wach about whether S.219 would duplicate or improve current services. Wach said Green Savings Smart, a navigation pilot that…