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Type | 501(c)(12) rural electric cooperative utility [1] [2] |
---|---|
Industry | Electric distribution |
Founded | March 23, 1938 [3] |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Vermont, U.S. |
Key people | Rebecca Towne, Chief Executive Officer; [4] Rich Goggin, President [5] |
Revenue | $76,640,149 [1] (2017) |
$6,705,153 [1] (2017) | |
Total assets | $176,829,631 [1] (2017) |
Total equity | $75,534,266 [1] (2017) |
Number of employees | 114 [2] (2017) |
Website | www |
The Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is a consumer-owned electric distribution cooperative headquartered in Johnson, Vermont. [6]
In 2019, Vermont Electric Cooperative served about 34,000 members in 74 towns in northern Vermont, including Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, and Orleans counties. [6]
Vermont Electric Cooperative was founded in 1938 in Eden Mills to serve residents in parts of rural Lamoille County who had been bypassed by investor-owned utilities. The Rural Electrification Act financed most of the growth in the early years. [6]
Early service was extended into Chittenden and Franklin counties. From the 1940s until the early 1960s, the territory it served expanded in northern Vermont through the construction of new lines and the acquisition of small private companies. In 1969, Vermont Electric Cooperative expanded into southern Vermont by merging with Halifax Electric Cooperative. In 1970, Vermont Electric Cooperative acquired the International Electric Company serving Derby Line. [6]
In 2004, Vermont Electric Cooperative acquired Citizens Communications Company's Vermont Electric Division. This more than doubled the membership-base. In 2006, Vermont Electric Cooperative sold its Southern District in Windham and Windsor counties to Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS), reducing its membership by 2,770. Additionally 12 member services in 3 towns of MA were sold to Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) [6]
In 2008, Vermont Electric Cooperative sought a 9.2% rate increase from the Vermont Public Service Board. It estimates that the rise in rates from transmission rates from ISO New England will increase its transmission costs by $1.5 million to $6 million total. About 30% of the increase is due to this increased transmission costs. [7]
In 2009, Vermont Electric Cooperative announced that it would purchase 50% of the 40 megawatts Sheffield wind-generated electricity when it becomes available. [8]
The cooperative installed smart meters at 80% of their households from 2007 to 2009. Savings using these have paid for the equipment upgrades. [9]
A 12-member Board of Directors is elected by members. Seven seats are reserved for geographic districts. Five members are elected by the entire membership. [10]
District 1 includes the towns of Averill, Avery's Gore, Barton, Bloomfield, Brighton, Brownington, Brunswick, Canaan, Charleston, Ferdinand, Guildhall, Holland, Lemington, Lewis, Lyndon, Maidstone, Morgan, Newark, Norton, Sheffield, Sutton, Warner's Grant, Warren Gore, Westmore and Wheelock. There are also towns in Caledonia County. District 2 includes Coventry, Derby, and Newport city. The remaining towns in Orleans County are in District 5. District 4 includes Jay, Lowell, Newport town, Westfield, and Troy. District 8 includes Albany, Barton , Craftsbury, Glover, Greensboro, and towns in Lamoille and Caledonia counties. [10]
The president of the Board of Directors is Dan Carswell. [6]
In 2013, there were 18 candidates for three open seats on the board. [11]
Vermont Electric Cooperative's core mission is to supply safe, affordable, and reliable energy services to its members. [12] VEC not only supplies electricity to members, but also offers a range of programs including bill credits for the purchase of certain electric appliances and devices including electric vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles, heat pumps, heat pump hot water heaters, pellet stoves, electric forklifts, and Zero Energy Modular homes. [13] In December 2016, Vermont Electric Cooperative launched Co-op Community Solar, a program under which members can sponsor solar panels in community solar arrays. Members pay an upfront payment for a term of either ten or twenty years and get a fixed monthly credit on their electric bill. Over the term, the total value of the bill credits exceeds the value of the upfront payment. [14]
Orleans County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,231. Its county seat is the city of Newport. The county was created in 1792 and organized in 1799. As in the rest of New England, few governmental powers have been granted to the county. The county is an expedient way of grouping and distributing state-controlled governmental services.
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,306, making it the least-populous county in both Vermont and New England. Its shire town is the municipality of Guildhall. The county was created in 1792 and organized in 1800. Bordered by the Connecticut River next to New Hampshire, Essex County is south of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the county with the lowest household-income in Vermont.
Hardwick is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,010 at the 2010 census. It contains the incorporated village of Hardwick and the unincorporated villages of East Hardwick and Mackville. The town is a commercial center for the region's farming population.
Coventry is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,086 at the 2010 census.
Glover is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town's population was 1,122. It contains two unincorporated villages, Glover and West Glover.
Lowell is the westernmost town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 738 at the 2000 census.
Orleans is a village in the northwestern corner of Barton, Orleans County, Vermont, United States. With a population of 818 at the 2010 census, it is the largest village in the county.
Barton is a village located near the center of the town of Barton, in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 739 at the 2010 census.
Barton is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,780 at the 2000 census. The town includes two incorporated villages, Barton and Orleans. Approximately 30% of the town's population lived in the village of Orleans, 27% in the village of Barton, and 43% outside the villages. Only four other towns in the state contain two incorporated villages.
Newport is a city and the county seat of Orleans County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 4,589. The city contains the second-largest population of any municipality in the county, and has the smallest geographic area. It is the second-smallest city by population in Vermont. Newport is also the name of a Town in Orleans County.
The Northeast Kingdom is the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, comprising Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties and having a population at the 2010 census of 64,764. In Vermont, the written term "NEK" is often used. The term "Northeast Kingdom" is attributed to George D. Aiken, former Governor of Vermont and a U.S. senator, who first used the term in a 1949 speech. The area is often referred to by Vermonters simply as "The Kingdom."
The Grand Isle-Chittenden-1-1 Representative District is a two-member state Representative district in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is one of the 108 one or two member districts into which the state was divided by the redistricting and reapportionment plan developed by the Vermont General Assembly following the 2000 U.S. Census. The plan applies to legislatures elected in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. A new plan will be developed in 2012 following the 2010 U.S. Census.
Lake Region Union High School, commonly known as Lake Region, is a secondary school located in Barton, in the U.S. state of Vermont. The school is operated by the Orleans Central Supervisory Union school district.
The North Country Supervisory Union is a school district responsible for the education of students in the Vermont towns of the city of Newport, Newport Town, Derby, Charleston, Jay, Troy, North Troy, Coventry, Brighton, Holland, Morgan, Westfield, and Lowell. It is administered by a school board.
The Rural Edge, formerly the Gilman Housing Trust (GHT), is a Vermont, community-based, rural, nonprofit community development corporation. It is part of the NeighborWorks America network. It owns over 500 multi-family rental units in the three-county service area (Orleans, Essex and Caledonia Counties. The organization owns Gilman Property Management, Inc., a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary which manages GHT's affordable housing portfolio. Offices are in Lyndonville, Vermont. Sally A. Young is President.
Vermont electric power needs are served by over twenty utilities. The largest is Green Mountain Power, a subsidiary of Énergir which recently also took over Central Vermont Public Service. Together this single company represents 70% of the retail customers in Vermont. The state is a small electricity consumer compared with other states. Therefore, its electricity sector has the lowest carbon footprint in the country. As of 2010, the state had the lowest wholesale electricity costs in New England. Efficiency Vermont engages in aggressive initiatives to cut residential electricity waste, which often identifies other problems that it claims can save hundreds per household per year. Accordingly, Vermont's overall energy bills are also relatively lower than in the rest of the New England states.
The 2018 Vermont House of Representatives elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Vermont voters will elect state representatives in all 150 seats. State representatives serve two-year terms in the Vermont House of Representatives. A primary election on August 14, 2018 determined which candidates appeared on the November 6 general election ballot.