Commentary: Affordable Heating Act: Legal Construction Prioritized Over Unanswered Questions
Last Thursday, the Vermont Senate Natural Resources Committee continued its efforts to structure the Affordable Heating Act (“AHA”) so that it would meet legal requirements and be enforceable. Despite Ethan Allen Institute estimates of a surcharge on heating fuel of as much as $4.00 per gallon which will unravel implementation of the AHA, the Committee continues to seek advice on how to prevent the program from being opposed on legal grounds.
Commentary: Clean Heat Standard: Fatal Flaws Now Appear
The Clean Heat Standard is dead. That’s not to say that S.5 won’t become law, because it will. But the fatal flaws in the policy which will prevent its implementation became very clear this past week. The primary flaws are excessive upfront cost and resulting non-compliance. It is good that the policy will eventually collapse. But until that time, it will prevent us from reaching critical climate targets and it will punish low and middle income Vermonters for the rest of this decade.
Commentary: Vermont’s Windmill-tilting Climate Action Plan
The Perfect Little Climate Conscious State now has its own Perfect Little Climate Action Plan. Although the Climate Action Plan won’t have any impact on climate, it will have an only too real impact on Vermonters’ wallets.