Flexible Load Management
Kerrick Johnson serves as Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service. A successful tech startup founder, he most recently served as Executive Advisor to Vermont Electric Power Company after having served as VELCO’s Chief Innovation and Communications Officer. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force as an airborne Russian linguist.
Vermont is at a moment of great opportunity to seize firmer control of its energy future. Technology changes over the last decade have created an opening for a just and equitable transition to a more affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy future for residents and businesses.
Significant challenges remain, and realizing the full value of this transition will take time, capital, and collaboration. Recent advances in technology, strategy, and application have positioned the state to make significant strides in the next decade and beyond.
Vermont starts with a good foundation. The state’s energy portfolio is among the cleanest in the nation, and Vermont is a per capita leader in clean energy employment and electric vehicle adoption. With a peak energy demand of 878 megawatts, the state hosts 900 megawatts of smaller, instate, renewable energy generators. At nearly 20 percent, once current projects are completed, the state has the greatest amount of storage as a percent of peak load in the Northeast.
Yet the most significant challenge is energy affordability. While electricity rates are modestly lower than neighbors, the region has a high energy burden of 3.5 percent. Unfortunately, the low-income energy burden is 10.5 percent, the highest in the country. A high-energy burden is above six percent (excluding transportation costs) and a severe energy burden above ten percent.