Big Jim vs H. 520: Compare & Contrast

 The Safe Power Vermont Campaign has a fact sheet out comparing the energy bill passed by the legislature with Douglas's PR treatment of energy & the environment. (see extended comments.)

And Peter Shumlin has an op-ed in the Rutland Herald today that's good, too.

http://rutlandherald...

Analysis of H.520

The Bill itself has many parts, but accomplishes 3 main goals:

1. Invests in renewable energy by requiring Vermont utilities to supply 20% of our power from clean local sources by 2012;
2. Makes it easier for businesses and individuals to invest in small renewable energy projects;
3. Improves efficiency by tightening building codes and expanding the mandate and funding of Efficiency Vermont so they can help us use less heating oil as well as electricity.

All this is paid for by making Vermont Yankee pay the same property tax rate as wind farms.

You can read a section by section overview of the bill at www.vpirg.org/override.php  

Tax Fairness:

You may have heard that the tax on Yankee is unfair, spurious or otherwise biased. This is not so, here’s why.

1. Yankee’s current rate is a sweetheart deal: Yankee currently pays a property tax rate of .001 cents per kWh. They are the only energy generator in the state to pay a rate this low. Because of this sweetheart tax rate Vermont Yankee’s tax-bill has actually gone DOWN since 2001, despite their having made over $100 million in improvements to the plant since then.  The .001 cent tax rate was cooked up in the Vermont House in 2003. No public hearings were held on the tax rate at that time, and no hearings at all were held in the Senate. The bill passed without public knowledge or understanding (many legislators did not know the rate had been changed) and was signed into law by Governor Douglas without comment or ceremony.

2. Entergy is not paying their fair share for our kids’ education: Because Entergy pays this sweetheart rate, Vermont home owners must pay higher property taxes in order to fully fund the education of our kids.

3. The new tax rate is fair. It’s the exact same rate wind farms will pay (.003cents/kWh), and the wind industry is excited to get this tax rate. The tax commissioner and others are researching the property taxes paid by other energy generators in Vermont, but it is believed no other company pays a rate as low as Entergy.

4. The new rate was discovered by citizen legislators trying to do the right thing. When our citizen legislators, were deciding how to fund the energy bill, they considered several options: a heating fuels tax, a windfall profits tax, and other mechanisms. But it was not until one legislator took a detailed look at the more than 1,000 pages of Vermont Tax code that most legislators realized Entergy was not paying its fair share (see 1a). Once they did, they acted in good faith to level the playing field and have Entergy ramp up over several years to paying the same fair rate as wind farms (.003cents/kWh).

Key Differences between Legislature’s H. 520 and Governor’s proposed alternative related to helping Vermonters reduce their heating costs.

H.520:

Accountability:

Creates strict Public Service Board oversight and requires demonstrated financial savings for Vermonters and pollution reduction ($ is linked to performance).

Adequate Funding:

Provides $4-6 million per year from the general fund.  This money comes from requiring Vermont Yankee to pay the same tax rate as a wind farm would and using anticipated revenue from Efficiency Vermont.

Implementation of the Building Efficiency Program:

Relies on an existing, award winning, efficiency program (Efficiency Vermont) that has a proven track record of working with residential customers at all income levels as well as small and large businesses alike.

Supporting Existing Low Income Weatherization:

Strengthens existing program through long-term planning, increased accountability and additional financial resources.

Helping Low Income Vermonters (not covered by existing program):

Will offer additional grants and zero interest loans based on the need.

Helping other Vermonters:

Will offer additional grants and low or zero interest loans based on the need.

Helping Vermont Businesses:

Will offer additional grants and low or zero interest loans based on the needs of the individual business.

Creating New Jobs:

Will support the creation of new private sector jobs in contracting, architecture, plumbing, heating services, electrical and other industries.

Governor’s Proposal:

Accountability:

Proposes limited oversight within the Governor’s Agency of Human Services and does not require actual savings ($ is not linked to performance).

Adequate Funding:

The Governor has said that his program will require between $800,000-900,000 per year but he has not identified any funding source for that money.

Implementation of the Building Efficiency Program:

Relies on Vermont’s terrific weatherization program that has a proven track record of very effectively providing services to Vermont’s low income community.

Supporting Existing Low Income Weatherization:

Asks existing program to provide more services with inadequate funding. [The Governor’s administration has supported cutting the existing program’s budget.]

Helping Low Income Vermonters (not covered by existing program):

Offers no grants and only loans to Vermonters who can likely not afford any significant increased debt burden.

Helping other Vermonters:

Offers nothing better than what existing programs already offer.

Helping Vermont Businesses:

Offers nothing better than what existing programs already offer.

Creating New Jobs:

4-5 additional jobs (based on the Governor’s proposal to split an estimated $250,000 between 5 existing weatherization agencies for administering a program designed to fail).