Efficiency Vermont forum visits Bennington

By Derek Carson

dcarson@ benningtonbanner.com @DerekCarsonBB on Twitter

Efficiency Vermont director Jim Merriam fields questions from Bennington county residents

BENNINGTON>> Efficiency Vermont hosted the fourth in its series of forums across the state in Bennington on Wednesday, hoping to learn from the community what they are doing well, and what they could do better.

The program's director, Jim Merriam, was on hand to answer questions and take comments from about 30 area residents. Efficiency Vermont is hosting these forums to hear opinions from the community regarding how they could improve their organization before the start of their next budget cycle, which runs from 2015 through 2017.

Efficiency Vermont is an organization, funded by the state of Vermont through a surcharge in customers energy bills, that has been charged by the legislature with reducing the cost of energy for all Vermonters. The organization, which is operated by the private non-profit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, goes about achieving this goal in a variety of ways, including giving advice to homeowners and small businesses, educating students, weatherizing homes, and

Attendees expressed numerous concerns to Merriam and his team, and after the forum's conclusion, Merriam said two of the biggest takeaways he had from Bennington had been that Efficiency Vermont needs to ensure that there are sufficient contractors in the area who are able to understand and install more efficient ways of heating and providing electricity for homes, and that the general public needs to be better educated on energy efficiency. He said each town so far had had its own unique concerns and observations. In St. Albans, for example, most of the residents involved in the forum had been for generating savings for small businesses, while in Barre, much of the concern was focused on supporting agencies that provide weatherization for low-income families.

"A lot of people might not understand," said Merriam, "we're a regulated public utility, just like Green Mountain Power." Efficiency Vermont is regulated by the Vermont Public Service Board, who gives them goals that they must achieve by the end of their budget cycle, or they will lose funding next time. Merriam said that among the goals that had been handed down to them for this current cycle, Efficiency Vermont must generate $336.3 million in economic benefits for the state, generate 321,800 megawatt hour savings, "deliver high quality services for low income Vermonters," and show "increased focus on reducing heating costs for small businesses." Merriam said the organization would reach all of these goals easily, and pointed out, "For every dollar in, we have to generate almost $2 back in value to Vermonters. You won't see a credit on your bill, but you will see a lesser increase, or hopefully no increase at all."

As Merriam noted, one of the biggest complaints Bennington residents had was how few area contractors are trained or willing to do the work that Efficiency Vermont recommends. "You guys were really great," said one man to Merriam, who had been seeking advice on installing a heat pump water heater in his home, "but I'm very frustrated that it took me over a year to get this all together," noting that many area contractors tried to talk him out of the more energy efficient method in favor of more traditional methods, and some refused to install the heater all together. The products themselves were also hard to come by, he said, as many local distributors didn't carry the most efficient brands.

"That gentleman's point really rings true, about the contractors," said another woman, who said that she as well had done her research on what the most energy efficient option was for her home, only to have a local plumber try to talk her out of it.

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Efficiency Vermont forum visits Bennington