Hardwick Electric employees worked on Christmas Day, 2022, in subfreezing weather to restore power to local residents including across from Perron’s Farm on Greensboro’s Craftsbury Road.
HARDWICK – Vermont’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) allowed a 1.97% Hardwick Electric Department (HED) rate increase to go into effect on March 7. In the PUC order, dated February 26, it is noted that, “The Commission has reviewed Hardwick Electric’s filing and is satisfied with the supporting information provided.”
Vermont’s Department of Public Service (PSD), created to “represent the public interest in matters regarding energy,” wrote in a recommendation dated February 20, “the Department respectfully recommends that the PUC allow the rate change to take effect as requested … without further hearing or investigation.”
Hardwick Electric customer, Vicki Solms of Elmore, contacted the Gazette to share two concerns. First, that only herself and one other customer filed comments on the proposed rate increase, and second that neither state agency seemed to take much note of the public comments.
Just two public comments are recorded on the PUC web site. On February 4, Solms wrote to the PUC, “It has only been a year since H.E. asked for an increase of over 13% and received half of that at 5.57%. With a shocking average salary of $91,947, and office managers making between $51,000-$71,000, increases should not always be passed along to the customers. And in light of the 1.5 million recovered from the embezzlement case in May 2021 when Mike Sullivan was quoted as saying “we will absolutely be looking at how we can best utilize that (1.5) on behalf of our rate payers interests . . . to keep rates stable’ it does not seem he is keeping his word. For these reasons I am opposed to this rate increase.”
The PSD website reports, “We work to advance all Vermonters’ quality of life, economy and security through implementation of our statewide energy and telecommunications goals, using sound statewide energy and telecommunications planning, strong public advocacy of the public good, and through strong consumer protection advocacy for individuals.”
Solms reported to the Gazette she felt her comments and those of Kerry Sukham, who shared that, “We are barely scraping by with the existing bill at $200-250 per month,” should have carried more weight with regulators and that more HED customers should have expressed concern over this rate increase coming just a year after the 5.57% increase that took effect in March of 2023.
The PSD recommendation reports that the department “conducted a review of HED’s rate request and associated materials. HED has identified the primary drivers behind the rate increase, including increasing transmission costs and upward pressure on salary and benefits costs.” It continues, “HED’s proposal must meet the following criteria: 1. The percentage rate change is applied equally to all customers; 2. The rate change is no more than two percent over a 12-month period.” It further listed other criteria that were easily met by the HED rate filing.
It appears that the 1.97% increase will apply equally to all customers and came in just under the 2% noted in the second item, allowing it to go through without further review.
The PSD website reports, “We work to advance all Vermonters’ quality of life, economy and security through implementation of our statewide energy and telecommunications goals, using sound statewide energy and telecommunications planning, strong public advocacy of the public good, and through strong consumer protection advocacy for individuals.”
The Town of Hardwick Electric Department is a not-for-profit, locally-owned municipal electric utility and is a component of the Town of Hardwick Municipal Corporation. They are governed by a five-member board of commissioners and serve approximately 4,350 customers in eleven Vermont towns with approximately 325 miles of transmission/distribution facilities.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
