THE VERMONT CLEAN HEAT STANDARD

The Vermont Public Utility Commission has issued a draft rule for the Clean Heat Standard. Download here.

The status update on the Clean Heat Standard is far more revealing.

Here are the key takeaways:

"The Clean Heat Standard, as currently conceived, requires substantial additional costs and regulatory complexity above the funding needed to accomplish Vermont’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals”

“The Clean Heat Standard would require establishing a credit marketplace managed by what is likely to be a costly credit platform, the potential for fraud and market manipulation, the appointment of new or varied default delivery agents with administrative costs of their own, and the participation and regulatory engagement of hundreds of fuel dealers and other actors.”

“Our work over the past year and a half on the Clean Heat Standard demonstrates that it does not make sense for Vermont, as a lone small state, to develop a clean heat credit market and the associated clean heat credit trading system to register, sell, transfer, and trade credits.

“Because the Clean Heat Standard introduces these additional regulatory hurdles and costs, the Commission is considering other options to achieve Vermont’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the thermal sector.”

Upcoming Meetings

Matt Cota of Meadow Hill will explain what all of this means on Friday, October 4 at 8:30 am