30 V.S.A. § 2 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 2
§ 2. Department powers
Status: in_force

(a) The Department of Public Service shall supervise and direct the execution of all laws relating to public service corporations and firms and individuals engaged in such business, including the:

(1) formation, organization, ownership, and acquisition of facilities of public service corporations under chapter 3 of this title;

(2) participation in planning for proper utility service as provided in section 202 of this title through the Director for Regulated Utility Planning;

(3) supervision and evaluation under chapters 5 and 77 of this title of the quality of service of public utility companies;

(4) interconnection and interchange of facilities of electric companies under sections 210, 213, and 214 of this title;

(5) representation of the State in the negotiations and proceedings for the procurement of electric energy from any source outside this State and from any generation facility inside the State under sections 211 and 212 of this title;

(6) review of proposed changes in rate schedules and petition to the Public Utility Commission, and representation of the interests of the consuming public in proceedings to change rate schedules of public service companies under chapter 5 of this title;

(7) siting of electric generation and transmission facilities under section 248 of this title;

(8) consolidations and mergers of public service corporations under chapter 7 of this title;

(9) supervision and regulation of cable television systems under chapter 13 of this title;

(10) supervision and regulation of telegraph and telephone companies under chapters 71, 73, and 75 of this title;

(11) supervision and regulation of the organization and operation of municipal plants under chapter 79 of this title; and

(12) supervision and regulation of the organization and operation of electric cooperatives under chapter 81 of this title.

(b) In cases requiring hearings by the Commission, the Department, through the Director for Public Advocacy, shall represent the interests of the people of the State, unless otherwise specified by law. In any hearing, the Commission may, if it determines that the public interest would be served, request the Attorney General or a member of the Vermont bar to represent the public or the State. In addition, the Department may intervene, appear, and participate in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceedings, Federal Communications Commission proceedings, or other federal administrative proceedings on behalf of the Vermont public.

(c) The Department may bring proceedings on its own motion before the Public Utility Commission, with respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission, and may initiate rulemaking proceedings before that Commission. The Public Utility Commission, with respect to any matter within its jurisdiction, may issue orders on its own motion and may initiate rulemaking proceedings.

(d) In any proceeding where the decommissioning fund for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Facility is involved, the Department shall represent the consuming public in a manner that acknowledges that the general public interest requires that the consuming public, rather than either the State's future consumers who never obtain benefits from the facility or the State's taxpayers, ought to provide for all costs of decommissioning. The Department shall seek to have the decommissioning fund be based on all reasonably expected costs.

(e) The Commissioner of Public Service (the Commissioner) will work with the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity (the Director), the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB), the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), the Vermont Community Action Partnership, and the efficiency entity or entities appointed under subdivision 209(d)(2) of this title and such other affected persons or entities as the Commissioner considers relevant to improve the energy efficiency of both single- and multi-family affordable housing units, including multi-family housing units previously funded by VHCB and VHFA and subject to the Multifamily Energy Design Standards adopted by the VHCB and VHFA. In consultation with the other entities identified in this subsection, the Commissioner and the Director together shall report twice to the House Committee on Environment and Energy and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, on or before January 31, 2015 and 2017, respectively, on their joint efforts to improve energy savings of affordable housing units and increase the number of units assisted, including their efforts to:

(1) simplify access to funding and other resources for energy efficiency and renewable energy available for single- and multi-family affordable housing. For the purpose of this subsection, “renewable energy” shall have the same meaning as under section 8002 of this title;

(2) ensure the delivery of energy services in a manner that is timely, comprehensive, and cost-effective;

(3) implement the energy efficiency standards applicable to single- and multi-family affordable housing;

(4) measure the results and performance of energy improvements;

(5) develop guidance for the owners and residents of affordable housing to maximize energy savings from improvements; and

(6) determine how to enhance energy efficiency resources for the affordable housing sector in a manner that avoids or reduces the need for assistance under 33 V.S.A. chapter 26 (home heating fuel assistance).

(f) In performing its duties under this section, the Department shall give heightened consideration to the interests of ratepayer classes who are not independently represented parties in proceedings before the Commission, including residential, low-income, and small business consumers, as well as other consumers whose interests might otherwise not be adequately represented but for the Department's advocacy.

(g) In all forums affecting policy and decision making for the New England region's electric system, including matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Independent System Operator of New England, the Department of Public Service shall advance positions that are consistent with the statutory policies and goals set forth in 10 V.S.A. §§ 578, 580, and 581 and sections 202a, 8001, 8004, and 8005 of this title. In those forums, the Department also shall advance positions that avoid or minimize adverse consequences to Vermont and its ratepayers from regional and inter-regional cost allocation for transmission projects. This subsection shall not compel the Department to initiate or participate in litigation and shall not preclude the Department from entering into agreements that represent a reasonable advance to these statutory policies and goals.

(h) The Department shall investigate when it receives a complaint that there has been noncompliance with section 246, 248, 248a, or 8010 of this title, any rule adopted pursuant to those sections, or any certificate of public good issued pursuant to those sections, including a complaint of such noncompliance received pursuant to section 208 of this title or the complaint protocol established under 2016 Acts and Resolves No. 130, Sec. 5c.
30 V.S.A. § 10 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 10
§ 10. Service of process; notice of hearings; temporary restraining orders
Status: in_force

(a) All processes issued by the Commission shall state the time and place of return, in those cases where return is to be made to the Commission. Orders, notices, and other processes issued by the Commission shall be served personally or by first class mail, except that the Commission may direct that service be made by registered or certified mail. If the whereabouts of a person are unknown, or if the number of respondents is so great that personal service or service by mail is impracticable, service may be made by publication.

(b) Except as provided in subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section, the Commission shall give 12 days' notice of all hearings.

(c) As used in this section, the term “hearings” refers to public hearings and evidentiary hearings. All other proceedings before the Commission may be held upon any reasonable notice.

(d) An evidentiary hearing, once commenced upon proper notice, may be continued to a subsequent date upon any reasonable notice.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, the Commission or a single member may grant temporary restraining orders in the manner provided by and subject to limitations prescribed by the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure.

(f) The provisions of sections 110-124 of this title relating to process and notice in condemnation cases shall not be affected by this section.
30 V.S.A. § 112 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 3 / Section 112
§ 112. Findings; dams; assessment of damages; jury trial
Status: in_force

(a) When the Commission finds:

(1) in the case of dams, that a certificate of public good authorizing the project as required, or a license from the Federal Power Commission has been granted;

(2) that the condemnation of property or right is necessary in order that the petitioner may render adequate service to the public in the conduct of the business which it is authorized to conduct, and in conducting which it will, according to the laws of this State, be under an obligation to serve the public on reasonable terms, and pursuant to the rules of the Commission;

(3) that the condemnation of the property or right will not unduly interfere with the orderly development of the region and scenic preservation; and

(4) that the condemnation of property or right is sought in order that the petitioner may render adequate service to the public in the conduct of such business, the Commission shall adjudge the petitioner entitled to condemn property or right, shall assess the compensation to be paid, and shall determine the time and manner of such payment.

(b) The compensation to be paid shall be based upon the value of the property on the day the petition is presented to the Commission, and shall include as separate elements the value of the property taken, impairment to the value of remaining property or rights of the owner, and consequential damages, including the damage to the owner's business. Provided, however, if the petitioner or the person or persons owning or interested in such property or right are dissatisfied with the compensation assessed by the Commission, either the petitioner or such person or persons may, within 30 days after the order of the Commission is made, appeal to the Superior Court of the county within which such property or right, or any part thereof, is situated to have the amount of compensation reassessed and the time and manner of payment redetermined, and either party may demand and have a trial by jury.
30 V.S.A. § 7 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 7
§ 7. Quorum; meetings
Status: in_force

Two Commission members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business. Meetings of the Commission may be held at any time or place within the State upon call of the Chair or the other two members, after a reasonable notice to the other members, and shall be held at such times and places as in the judgment of the Commission will best serve the convenience of all parties in interest.
30 V.S.A. § 3051 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 82 / Section 3051
§ 3051. Formation
Status: in_force

(a) Two or more towns and cities may elect to form a communications union district for the delivery of communications services and the operation of a communications plant, which district shall be a body politic and corporate.

(b) A town or city electing to form a district under this chapter shall submit to the eligible voters of such municipality a proposition in substantially the following form: “Shall the Town of ______ enter into a communications union district to be known as ______ , under the provisions of 30 V.S.A. chapter 82?” at an annual or special meeting of such town or city.

(c) Additional towns or cities may be admitted to the district in the manner provided in section 3082 of this chapter.

(d) As used in this chapter:

(1) “Communications plant” means any and all parts of any communications system owned by the district, whether using wires, cables, fiber optics, wireless, other technologies, or a combination of, and used for the purpose of transporting or storing information, in whatever forms, directions, and media, together with any improvements constructed or acquired later, and all other facilities, equipment, and appurtenances necessary or appropriate to such system. However, the term “communications plant” and any regulatory implications or any restrictions under this chapter regarding a “communications plant” shall not apply to facilities or portions of any communications facilities intended for use by, and solely used by, a district member and its own officers and employees in the operation of municipal departments or systems of which such communications are merely an ancillary component.

(2) “Communications union district” or “district” means a communications union district formed under this chapter.

(3) “District member” or “member municipality” means a town or city that elects to form or join a communications union district under this chapter.

(4) “Governing board” or “board” means the governing board of the communications union district as established under this chapter.
30 V.S.A. § 2529 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 71 / Section 2529
§ 2529. Loitering upon telephone property; penalty
Status: in_force

A person who without right loiters or remains in a telephone central office, a public telephone pay station, or the approaches to it, after being requested to leave by a railroad police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, or police officer shall be fined not more than $20.00 nor less than $2.00.
30 V.S.A. § 4001 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 83 / Section 4001
§ 4001. Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) “Cooperative” means a corporation organized under, or otherwise subject to, chapter 81 of this title.

(2) “Electric facilities” means any facilities necessary or incidental to the generation of electric power and energy or the transmission thereof, including electric generating units, electric generating plants, electric transmission lines, plant sites, rights-of-way, and real and personal property and equipment, and rights of every kind useful in connection therewith.

(3) “Municipal electric utility” means any city, town, village, or department thereof, within this State, authorized to and engaged in the manufacture, distribution, purchase, and sale of electricity in this State.

(4) “Utility” is intended to refer to cooperatives, municipal utilities, as defined, and private electric utilities.
30 V.S.A. § 18 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 18
§ 18. Production and examination of books; witnesses
Status: in_force

So far as is necessary for the performance of its duties, the Public Utility Commission or the Commissioner of Public Service, the Directors for Public Advocacy and Regulated Utility Planning, and any other employee of the Department authorized by the Commissioner shall have power to examine the books, accounts, and papers of any company, receiver, trustee, or lessee owning or operating any line, plant, or property, subject to the Commission's or the Department's jurisdiction that in any way relate to or contain entries, data, or memoranda concerning any transaction substantially affecting the interests of the State of Vermont or consumers of utility services within the State, to subpoena witnesses, to administer oaths to them, and to examine them on all matters of which the Commission or Department has jurisdiction.
30 V.S.A. § 3012 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 81 / Section 3012
§ 3012. Notice; waiver
Status: in_force

A person entitled to notice of a meeting may waive the notice in writing either before or after the meeting. If the person shall attend the meeting, attendance shall constitute a waiver of notice of the meeting, unless the person participates solely to object to the transaction of any business because the meeting has not been legally called or convened.
30 V.S.A. § 2526 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 71 / Section 2526
§ 2526. Fees of certain officers
Status: in_force

When the selectboard members or other officers are called upon to act under the provisions of this chapter, each shall receive his or her necessary expenses and $2.00 a day, to be paid by the party erecting the line of wires or other appurtenances or apparatus.
30 V.S.A. § 3007 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 81 / Section 3007
§ 3007. Members, qualifications
Status: in_force

Each incorporator of a cooperative shall be a member thereof, but no other person may become a member thereof unless such other person uses electric energy or other services, goods, or products furnished by the cooperative when they are made available through its electric distribution facilities, or a person may become a member by purchasing and paying the cooperative for renewable energy certificates or other environmental attributes associated with the generation of electricity. A member of a cooperative who ceases to use electric energy shall cease to be a member if he or she does not use electric energy supplied by the cooperative within six months after it is made available, or if electric energy is not made available by the cooperative within two years after he or she becomes a member or some lesser period as the bylaws of the cooperative may provide. Two or more owners or occupants of property served by a cooperative may hold a joint membership in a cooperative. Membership in a cooperative shall not be transferable, except as provided by the bylaws. The bylaws may prescribe additional qualifications and limitations in respect to membership.
30 V.S.A. § 3085 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 82 / Section 3085
§ 3085. Certificate of good standing
Status: in_force

(a) A district may apply to the Secretary of State for a certificate of good standing.

(b) A certificate of good standing shall include:

(1) the official name of the district;

(2) that the district is duly formed pursuant to this chapter;

(3) the date of the district's formation;

(4) that the fee required by this section has been paid; and

(5) that a plan of dissolution for the district has not been approved pursuant to section 3083 of this chapter.

(c) Subject to any qualification stated in the certificate, a certificate of good standing issued by the Secretary of State may be:

(1) relied upon as conclusive evidence that the district is in existence and is authorized to deliver communications services and operate a communications plant pursuant to this chapter; and

(2) taken as prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

(d) A district that applies for a certificate of good standing under this section shall pay to the Secretary of State a nonrefundable application fee of $25.00.
30 V.S.A. § 8092 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 92 / Section 8092
§ 8092. Rates; terms; conditions
Status: in_force

(a) Any company providing electric or gas service under Public Utility Commission jurisdiction pursuant to this title shall prepare and file with the Public Utility Commission, with a copy provided to the Commissioner of Public Service and the Director for Public Advocacy, a statement of generally available rates, terms, and conditions for attachments and installations required under section 8091 of this chapter. The nature and specificity of such statement may take into account the nature and size of the company, an assessment of the types of communications facilities for which requests are most likely, and such other factors as necessary to ensure that the rates, terms, and conditions set forth in the statement are sufficiently flexible to meet the capacities of the company, the interests of the company's ratepayers, and the goal of facilitating broadband and wireless service.

(b) The Department and the Commission shall review the statement of generally available rates, terms, and conditions filed by each company. In the event that the Commission or the Department has grounds to believe that the rates, terms, or conditions are not just and reasonable, the Commission may open an investigation into the statement. In the absence of an investigation, or while such an investigation is pending, the company's filed statement of rates, terms, and conditions shall take effect or shall remain in effect without requiring the approval of the Commission. Changes to any company's filed statement of rates, terms, and conditions shall not take effect until 45 days after the statement has been filed with the Commission and the Department.

(c) In the event of a Commission investigation into a company's statement of rates, terms, and conditions pursuant to this chapter, the Commission may alter or change the rates, terms, or conditions in effect for attachments and installations after notice and hearing, upon a finding that the company's rates, terms, or conditions are not just and reasonable. In making its determination, the Commission shall consider evidence that may be presented regarding the commercial reasonableness of the rates given the local market and the public interest in reasonable rates for electric or gas service and availability of communications services in the State. Any change in rates, terms, and conditions required as a result of a Commission investigation shall be effective as of the date of the Commission's order without any refund.

(d) The statement shall include rates, terms, and conditions for services for which the company may reasonably expect to receive requests, including at a minimum:

(1) For wireline communications facilities:

(A) Attachment of communications facilities to electric transmission facilities and maintenance of these communications facilities.

(B) Contribution to construction for communications facilities installed concurrently with the construction or reconstruction of electric and gas company facilities when requested by a communications service provider.

(2) For wireless communication facilities:

(A) Attachment of communications facilities to electric transmission and generation facilities and maintenance of these communications facilities.

(B) Contribution to construction for communications facilities installed concurrently with the construction or reconstruction of electric company facilities when requested by a communications service provider.

(e) Rates, terms, and conditions for contributions to construction and for maintenance of communications facilities installed concurrently when companies are constructing or substantially reconstructing electric transmission or distribution lines or structures or gas transmission lines shall be based on the incremental cost of adding the communications facility to the project, as long as the communications facilities will provide service in the municipality in which they are located and surrounding municipalities.

(f) The company may negotiate rates, terms, and conditions of service that deviate from the statement of rates, terms, and conditions on file, but the company may not refuse a request to provide service in accordance with the rates, terms, and conditions on file. Section 229 of this title does not apply to deviations from the statement of rates, terms, and conditions, unless a company provides service pursuant to this chapter to an affiliate of the company that is not an electric or gas utility.

(g) Companies with facilities meeting the requirements of this section shall submit their statement of rates, terms, and conditions within 150 days of the date of the enactment of this legislation.

(h)(1) A company may limit wireline attachments on electric transmission structures exclusively carrying voltages of 110 kV or higher to fiber-optic facilities attached and maintained by the company, if the company allows communications service providers to use fiber-optic facilities installed and maintained by the company and offers to install such fiber-optic facilities on such electric transmission structures where there are not sufficient facilities for use by communications service providers. Rates, terms, and conditions for access to such company-attached and company-maintained facilities shall be made available consistent with the requirements of this section.

(2) Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, a company may not enter into a contract with a communications service provider that provides exclusive access to its company-attached and company-maintained fiber-optic facilities by including terms that expressly prohibit any other communications service provider from leasing or purchasing unused strands of fiber. The terms and conditions of any contract entered into under this section shall include a provision specifying that, if a communications service provider leases fiber-optic capacity but fails to use that capacity within one year from the date the contract is entered into, the communications service provider shall report such nonuse to the Department of Public Service. The Commissioner of Public Service shall determine if such nonuse constitutes anticompetitive behavior that unreasonably precludes another communications service provider from leasing fiber-optic capacity. If the Commissioner determines that such nonuse constitutes anticompetitive behavior, he or she shall commence an investigation with the Public Utility Commission. The Commission is authorized to impose a remedy it deems appropriate under the circumstances. Such remedy may include termination of the lease with respect to the unused portion of the leased fiber-optic capacity.

(i) The Public Utility Commission may establish rules to implement this chapter. Such rules may include default rates, terms, and conditions to implement subsections (c) and (h) of this section. As part of the implementation of this chapter, the Commission shall establish rules to require, to the extent the Commission is not preempted, communications providers to extend their facilities as far as the Commission's authority permits.

(j) A company having electric transmission or distribution structures carrying voltages of 110 kV or lower may not enter into a contract with a communications service provider that provides exclusive access to its company-attached and company-maintained fiber-optic facilities by including terms that expressly prohibit any other communications service provider from leasing or purchasing unused strands of fiber. The terms and conditions of any contract entered into under this section shall include a provision specifying that, if a communications service provider leases fiber-optic capacity but fails to use that capacity within one year from the date the contract is entered into, the communications service provider shall report such nonuse to the Department of Public Service. The Commissioner of Public Service shall determine if such nonuse constitutes anticompetitive behavior that unreasonably precludes another communications service provider from leasing fiber-optic capacity. If the Commissioner determines that such nonuse constitutes anticompetitive behavior, he or she shall commence an investigation with the Public Utility Commission. The Commission is authorized to impose a remedy it deems appropriate under the circumstances. Such remedy may include termination of the lease with respect to the unused portion of the leased fiber-optic capacity.
30 V.S.A. § 3004 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 81 / Section 3004
§ 3004. Organization; members
Status: in_force

Five or more natural persons, a majority of whom are residents of this State, or two or more cooperatives, may organize a cooperative in the manner provided in this chapter.
30 V.S.A. § 5018 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 84 / Section 5018
§ 5018. Construction contracts
Status: in_force

The Authority may contract for the planning, acquisition, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, extension, and improvement of any project, or may contract with other public or private owners of any project to perform these functions, without advertising for bids, preparing final plans and specifications in advance of construction or securing performance and payment bonds, except to the extent that the directors determine that these actions are desirable in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter. Except as otherwise provided by this section, no contract shall be invalid or unenforceable by reason of nonperformance of the conditions required by any other law relating to public contracts.
30 V.S.A. § 8085 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 91A / Section 8085
§ 8085. Broadband Preconstruction Grant Program
Status: in_force

(a) There is established the Community Broadband Preconstruction Grant Program to be administered by the Board. The purpose of the Program is to provide grants to communications union districts for preconstruction costs related to broadband projects that are part of a universal service plan.

(b) As used in this section, “preconstruction costs” include expenses for feasibility studies, business planning, pole data surveys, engineering and design, and make-ready work associated with the construction of broadband networks, including consultant, legal, and administrative expenses, and any other costs deemed appropriate by the Board.

(c) To ensure an equitable distribution of funds under this Program and to encourage collaborative work among communications union districts, grant awards shall be scalable and shall be commensurate with the size of a broadband project as determined by the project's service area, road mileage, the number of unserved or underserved locations, or any other metric deemed appropriate by the Board. In addition, the Board may develop standards for the disbursement of grant funds in a manner that both supports the efficient and timely use of funds and also ensures accountability.
30 V.S.A. § 2512 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 71 / Section 2512
§ 2512. Appeal; proceedings
Status: in_force

When either party is dissatisfied with such appraisal of damages, the party may apply to the Superior Court by petition in the same manner as is provided for a person dissatisfied with the compensation for damages for the laying out or altering of highway, and similar proceedings shall be had. The line shall not be erected until such cause is finally decided, unless the party erecting the same files with the clerk of the court to which such application is made, before the line is erected, a bond to the other party, with sureties approved by such clerk, conditioned for the payment of such damages and costs as may finally be awarded.
30 V.S.A. § 227e — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 227e
§ 227e. Leasing or licensing of State land; public notice
Status: in_force

(a) Beginning July 1, 2011, State land may not be leased or licensed for the purpose of construction or installation of a wireless telecommunications facility, as defined in subsection 248a(b) of this title, unless authorized by the Secretary of Administration pursuant to the requirements of this section. For purposes of this section, “State land” means land owned in fee or interests in land owned by the Agency of Natural Resources. No initial lease or license, including any renewal thereof, entered into pursuant to this section shall exceed 25 years.

(b) Prior to entering into or renewing a lease or license, the Secretary shall:

(1) publish notice of the proposed telecommunications facility site in one daily newspaper of general circulation in the region of the proposed site and on the website maintained by the Agency of Administration, with appropriate hyperlinks to that website on all relevant, State-maintained websites; and

(2) send by certified mail, return receipt requested, a written notice of the proposed lease or license or renewal to the legislative body of each municipality in which such leased or licensed land is located. The notice shall include a description of the land to be leased or licensed and of the proposed telecommunications facility to be sited on the land, including the facility's height and location.
30 V.S.A. § 19 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 19
§ 19. Experts
Status: in_force

With the approval of the Governor, the Commission may appoint and employ, at the expense of the State, engineers, accountants, legal counsel, and such number of clerks, stenographers, experts, and temporary employees as it deems necessary in the performance of its duties and in the investigation of matters within its jurisdiction.
30 V.S.A. § 3068 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 82 / Section 3068
§ 3068. Clerk
Status: in_force

The clerk of the district shall be appointed by the board and shall serve at its pleasure. The clerk is not required to be a member of the governing board. The clerk shall have the exclusive charge and custody of the records of the district and the seal of the district. The clerk shall record all votes and proceedings of the district, including district and board meetings, and shall prepare and cause to be posted and published all warnings of meetings. Following approval by the board, the clerk shall cause the annual report to be distributed to the legislative bodies of the district members. The clerk shall prepare and distribute any other reports required by State law and resolutions or rules of the board. The clerk shall perform all duties and functions incident to the office of secretary or clerk of a body corporate.
30 V.S.A. § 2601 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 73 / Section 2601
§ 2601. Names of members; filing and record
Status: in_force

Every foreign express or telegraph company shall keep on file and have recorded in the town clerk's office in each town where such express or telegraph company has a place of business a statement of the names and residences of the persons constituting such express or telegraph company.
30 V.S.A. § 11 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 11
§ 11. Pleadings; rules of practice; hearings; findings of fact
Status: in_force

(a)(1) The forms, pleadings, and rules of practice and procedure before the Commission shall be prescribed by it. The Commission shall adopt rules that include, among other things, provisions that:

(2) With regard to the general procedural rules codified in Commission Rule 2.000, notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Vermont Administrative Procedure Act, the Commission is empowered to prescribe and amend from time to time general rules with respect to pleadings, practice, evidence, procedure, and forms for all Commission proceedings.

(3) The rules prescribed or amended shall not abridge, enlarge, or modify any substantive rights of any person provided by law.

(4) The rules, when initially prescribed or any amendments to them, including any repeal, modification, or addition, shall take effect on the date provided by the Commission in its order of promulgation unless objected to by the Legislative Committee on Judicial Rules as provided in 12 V.S.A. chapter 1. If an objection is made by the Legislative Committee on Judicial Rules, the initially prescribed rules in question shall not take effect until they have been reported to the General Assembly by the Chair of the Commission at any regular, adjourned, or special session thereof, and until after the expiration of 45 legislative days following that session, including the date of the filing of the report.

(5) The General Assembly may repeal, revise, or modify any rule or amendment, and its action shall not be abridged, enlarged, or modified by subsequent rule.

(6) The Commission shall adopt rules that include, among other things, provisions that:

(A) A utility whose rates are suspended under the provisions of section 226 of this title shall, within 30 days from the date of the suspension order, file with the Commission all exhibits it intends to use in the hearing thereon together with the names of witnesses it intends to produce in its direct case and a short statement of the purposes of the testimony of each witness. Except in the discretion of the Commission, a utility shall not be permitted to introduce into evidence in its direct case exhibits that are not filed in accordance with this rule.

(B) A scheduling conference shall be ordered in every contested rate case. At such conference the Commission may require the State or any person opposing such rate increase to specify what items shown by the filed exhibits are conceded. Further proof of conceded items shall not be required.

(b) The Commission shall allow all members of the public to attend each of its hearings unless the hearing is for the sole purpose of considering information to be treated as confidential pursuant to a protective order duly adopted by the Commission.

(1) The Commission shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the location of each hearing is sufficient to accommodate all members of the public seeking to attend.

(2) The Commission shall ensure that the public may safely attend the hearing, including obtaining such resources as may be necessary to fulfill this obligation.

(c) The Commission shall hear all matters within its jurisdiction and make its findings of fact. It shall state its rulings of law when they are excepted to. Upon appeal to the Supreme Court, its findings of fact shall be accepted unless clearly erroneous.
30 V.S.A. § 405 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 405
§ 405. Prohibition
Status: in_force

The waters of Great Averill and Little Averill ponds and Norton Lake shall not by any artificial means be raised higher or drawn lower, or permitted through neglect to become lower or higher, than the maximum and minimum levels established by the Commission.
30 V.S.A. § 124 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 3 / Section 124
§ 124. Appeal
Status: in_force

The judgment and findings of the Commission shall be final, except that a party who feels himself or herself aggrieved thereby may appeal to the Supreme Court pursuant to the provisions of section 12 of this title. Such appeal shall suspend execution of the judgment of the Commission, but the Supreme Court, or a single Justice in vacation, may vacate the suspension as justice and equity require.
30 V.S.A. § 7059 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 87 / Section 7059
§ 7059. Confidentiality of system information
Status: in_force

(a)(1) A person shall not access, use, or disclose to any other person any individually identifiable information contained in the system database created under subdivision 7053(a)(4) of this title, including any customer or user ALI or ANI information, except in accordance with rules adopted by the Board and for the purpose of:

(A) responding to emergency calls;

(B) system maintenance and quality control under the direction of the Director;

(C) investigation, by law enforcement personnel, of false or intentionally misleading reports of incidents requiring emergency services;

(D) assisting in the implementation of a statewide emergency notification system;

(E) provision of emergency dispatch services by public safety answering points in other states that are under contract with local law enforcement and emergency response organizations; or

(F) coordinating with state and local service providers for the provision of emergency dispatch services that serve individuals with a disability, elders, and other populations with special needs.

(2) No person shall use customer ALI or ANI information to create special 911 databases for any private purpose or any public purpose unauthorized by this chapter.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, customer ALI or ANI information obtained in the course of responding to an emergency call may be included in an incident report prepared by emergency response personnel, in accordance with rules adopted by the Board.

(c) Information relating to customer name, address, and any other specific customer information collected, organized, acquired, or held by the Board, the entity operating a public safety answering point or administering the Enhanced 911 database, or emergency service provider is not public information and is exempt from disclosure under 1 V.S.A. chapter 5, subchapter 3.

(d) If a municipality has adopted conventional street addressing for Enhanced 911 addressing purposes, the municipality shall ensure that an individual who so requests will not have his or her street address and name linked in a municipal public record, but the individual shall be required to provide a mailing address. The request required by this subsection shall be in writing and shall be filed with the municipal clerk. Requests under this subsection shall be confidential. A form shall be prepared by the Board and made generally available to the public by which the confidentiality option established by this subsection may be exercised.

(e) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no person acting on behalf of the State of Vermont or any political subdivision of the State shall require an individual to disclose his or her Enhanced 911 address, provided that the individual furnishes his or her alternative mailing address.
30 V.S.A. § 8006 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 89 / Section 8006
§ 8006. Tradeable credits; environmental attributes; recognition, monitoring, and disclosure
Status: in_force

(a) The Commission shall establish or adopt a system of tradeable renewable energy credits for renewable resources that may be earned by electric generation qualifying for the RES. The system shall recognize tradeable renewable energy credits monitored and traded on the New England Generation Information System (GIS); shall provide a process for the recognition, approval, and monitoring of environmental attributes attached to renewable energy that are eligible to satisfy the requirements of sections 8004 and 8005 of this title but are not monitored and traded on the GIS; and shall otherwise be consistent with regional practices.

(b) The Commission shall ensure that all electricity provider and provider-affiliate disclosures and representations made with regard to a provider's portfolio are accurate and reasonably supported by objective data. Further, the Commission shall ensure that providers disclose the types of generation used and shall clearly distinguish between energy or tradeable energy credits provided from renewable and nonrenewable energy sources and existing and new renewable energy.
30 V.S.A. § 3060 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 82 / Section 3060
§ 3060. Organizational meeting
Status: in_force

Annually, on the second Tuesday in May following the appointments contemplated in section 3059 of this chapter or on a date specified in the district's bylaws, the board shall hold its organizational meeting. At the meeting, the board shall elect from among its appointed representatives a chair and a vice chair, each of whom shall hold office for one year and until a successor is duly elected. The board's initial organizational meeting shall be held within 90 days following the vote to form a district under subsection 3051(b) of this title.
30 V.S.A. § 248c — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 248c
§ 248c. Fees; Department of Public Service and Public Utility Commission; participation in certification and siting proceedings
Status: in_force

(a) Establishment. This section establishes fees for the purpose of supporting the role of the Department of Public Service (Department) and the Public Utility Commission (Commission) in reviewing applications for in-state facilities under section 248 of this title. Companies that pay the gross receipts tax as provided in section 22 of this title shall not be subject to the fees established in this section.

(b) Payment. The applicant shall pay the fee into the State Treasury at the time the application for a certificate of public good is filed with the Commission in an amount calculated in accordance with this section. The fee shall be deposited into the gross revenue fund. Of the fees deposited into the gross revenue fund, 60 percent shall be allocated to the Department and 40 percent shall be allocated to the Commission.

(c) Definitions. As used in this section, “kW” and “plant capacity” have the same meanings as in section 8002 of this title.

(d) Electric and natural gas facilities. This subsection sets fees for registrations and applications under section 248 of this title.

(1) There shall be a fee of $100.00 for each electric generation facility less than or equal to 50 kW in plant capacity, or for a rooftop project, or for a hydroelectric project filing a net metering registration, or for an application filed under subsection 248(n) of this title, or for an energy storage facility less than or equal to 1 MW in nameplate capacity that is required to obtain a certificate of public good under section 248 of this title and is proposed to be located inside an existing building and that would not require any ground disturbance work or upgrades to the distribution system.

(2) There shall be a fee of $25.00 for modifications for each electric generation facility less than or equal to 50 kW in plant capacity, or for a rooftop project, or for a hydroelectric project filing a net metering registration, or for an application filed under subsection 248(n) of this title, or for an energy storage facility less than or equal to 1 MW in nameplate capacity that is required to obtain a certificate of public good under section 248 of this title and is proposed to be located inside an existing building and that would not require any ground disturbance work or upgrades to the distribution system.

(3) There shall be a fee for electric generation facilities and energy storage facilities that are required to obtain a certificate of public good under section 248 of this title and that do not qualify for the lower fees in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, calculated as follows:

(A) $5.00 per kW; and

(B) $100.00 for modifications.

(4) For applications that include both a proposed electric generation facility and a proposed energy storage facility, the fee shall be the larger of either the fee for the electric generation facility or the energy storage facility as set out in subdivisions (1) and (3) of this subsection.

(5) For applications that propose to add an energy storage facility to a location that already has a certificate of public good for an electric generation facility, the fee shall be that for a proposed new energy storage facility as set out in subdivisions (1) and (3) of this subsection.

(6) For applications that propose to add an electric generation facility to a location that already has a certificate of public good for an energy storage facility, the fee shall be that for a proposed new electric generation facility as set out in subdivisions (1) and (3) of this subsection.

(e) Report. On or before the third Tuesday of each annual legislative session, the Department and Commission shall jointly submit a report to the General Assembly by electronic submission. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to this report. The report shall list the fees collected and refunds approved, if any, under this section and under section 248d of this title during the preceding fiscal year.
30 V.S.A. § 404 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 404
§ 404. Great Averill Pond, Little Averill Pond, Norton Lake
Status: in_force

The Public Utility Commission shall establish maximum and minimum water levels of Great Averill Pond, located in the towns of Averill and Norton, and Little Averill Pond, located in the town of Averill, and Norton Lake, located in the town of Norton and in Warren's Gore, at their outlets. The Commission may revise its findings from time to time either on its own motion or on petition of interested parties and, after opportunity for hearing, establish different water levels. When such levels are so established, the Commission shall certify its findings to the Secretary of State and cause the same to be recorded in the office of the town clerk of Norton.
30 V.S.A. § 602 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 14 / Section 602
§ 602. Authorization
Status: in_force

The City of Burlington and the Village of Lyndonville acting through its board of trustees are, and each municipality singly is, hereby authorized to enter into a New England power pool agreement and to participate within and outside the State of Vermont in the New England power pool created thereby. Any action taken by the City or such board of trustees in connection with entering into or participating in such pool prior to March 25, 1974, shall be deemed to be as effective as if this chapter had then been in effect.
30 V.S.A. § 5013 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 84 / Section 5013
§ 5013. Special powers
Status: in_force

(a) The Authority may contract to sell, and member municipalities and cooperatives and other utilities may contract to purchase, all or a portion of the capacity and output of one or more specific projects including contracts providing for planning, engineering, design, acquiring sites or options for sites, and expenses preliminary or incidental to such project. This contract may be for the life of a project or other term or for an indefinite period; may provide for the payment of unconditional obligations imposed without regard to whether a project is undertaken, completed, operable, or operating and despite the suspension, interruption, interference, reduction, or curtailment of the output of a project; and may contain provisions for prepayment, nonunanimous amendment, arbitration, delegation, and other matters deemed necessary or desirable to carry out its purposes. This contract may also provide, in the event of default by any party to the contract in the performance of its obligations under the contract, for other parties to assume the obligations and succeed to the rights and interests of the defaulting party, pro rata or otherwise as may be agreed upon in the contract.

(b) Neither the obligations of the Authority nor the obligations of any member municipality or cooperative or other utility under any contract authorized by subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed to constitute an indebtedness or a lending of credit of the Authority or any such municipality, cooperative, or other utility or shall be included in computing the borrowing capacity of the Authority, or any such municipality, cooperative, or other utility. These obligations of such municipalities and cooperatives shall be treated as expenses of operating their electric plants. In the case of municipalities, these obligations shall constitute special obligations of such municipalities payable solely from the revenues and other monies derived by them from their electric departments or systems. The liability of these municipalities from other funds is limited to obligations undertaken by them to pay for the electric power and energy used by them.

(c) A municipality or cooperative shall be obligated to fix, revise, and collect fees and charges for electric power and energy and other services, facilities, and commodities furnished or supplied through its electric system at least sufficient to provide revenues adequate to meet its obligations under any such output and capacity contract and to pay all other amounts payable from or constituting a charge and lien upon those revenues.

(d) Any member municipality or cooperative may convey, transfer, or assign to the Authority, with or without consideration, any real or personal property or interest in either, including a leasehold estate.

(e) The Authority and any member municipality or cooperative or other utility (whether or not such utility is a member of the Authority) that is acting pursuant to a contract with the Authority may expend its funds, including the proceeds of its notes, bonds, or other obligations, for the purposes of modifying demand for electric capacity or energy through conservation or load management by participation in such facilities, projects, and programs as the Board of the Authority or the legislative body or other governing body or the governing board of the member municipality or cooperative or other utility, as the case may be, determines will effectively accomplish such purposes. Such facilities, projects, and programs may include providing or financing facilities or projects for conservation or load management, which may be: owned or operated by the Authority or any member municipality or cooperative or other utility or by others; leased or licensed by the Authority or any member municipality or cooperative or other utility to others, or financed by loans by the Authority or any member municipality or cooperative or other utility to others, in either case on such terms and conditions as the Board of the Authority or the legislative body or other governing body or the governing board of the member municipality or cooperative or other utility, as the case may be, may determine. Any member municipality or cooperative or other utility may issue its notes, bonds, or other obligations pursuant to any statutory authority conferring such power for carrying out the purposes of this subsection.
30 V.S.A. § 606 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 14 / Section 606
§ 606. Tenancy in common
Status: in_force

If the City of Burlington, the Village of Lyndonville, or the Town of Rockingham acquires or owns an interest as a tenant in common with one or more other electric utilities in any electric power facilities, the surrender or waiver by any party of its right to partition such property for a period not exceeding the period for which the property is used or useful for electric utility purposes shall not be invalid or unenforceable by reason of the length of such period, or as unduly restricting the alienation of such property.
30 V.S.A. § 2704 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 75 / Section 2704
§ 2704. Discrimination prohibited
Status: in_force

On application of a person or corporation and tender of the charges or rental sum usual or customary for the class of service required, without discrimination for the same class of service rendered, a person or corporation owning, controlling, or operating a telephone exchange or service in this State shall furnish the applicant with the use of a telephone and telephonic service and connection with their respective exchanges and subscribers.
30 V.S.A. § 2604 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 73 / Section 2604
§ 2604. Noncompliance; effect
Status: in_force

An express or telegraph company shall not make contracts within the State, or enforce in the State contracts made out of it, unless such company has complied with the provisions of sections 2601-2603 of this title.
30 V.S.A. § 610a — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 14 / Section 610a
§ 610a. Authorization of indebtedness
Status: in_force

(a) A municipality owning and operating a municipal plant and conducting itself as a utility pursuant to chapter 79 of this title, when authorized as provided in 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapters 1 and 2 or municipal charter, may pledge its credit or the net revenues of its municipal plant by issuing negotiable orders, warrants, notes, or bonds for the acquisition of equity ownership in Vermont Transco LLC or Vermont Electric Power Company or both pursuant to subsection 604(e) of this title. In addition, an acquisition of equity ownership may be effected through any instrument permitted under 24 V.S.A. § 1789. Acquisition costs may include all costs, whether incurred prior to or after the issue of bonds or notes relating to the acquisition of equity ownership under this chapter. Acquisition of equity ownership is an improvement as defined in 24 V.S.A. § 1751(3).

(b) The obligations shall be issued in accordance with 24 V.S.A. chapter 53 or municipal charter. The amount of obligations issued for such purpose shall not be considered in computing any debt limit applicable to the municipality.

(c) Any contract entered into and any debt obligation issued under this section for any purpose pursuant to this chapter shall have been issued for an essential government purpose and shall not be deemed to be a pledge of private credit for public benefit nor a delegation of municipal authority, responsibility, or discretion.
30 V.S.A. § 5 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 5
§ 5. Clerk; oath
Status: in_force

The Commission shall appoint a clerk, who shall serve during its pleasure. The Commission members and clerk shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their offices and, before entering upon the same, shall file a certificate of their oaths for record in the Office of the Secretary of State.
30 V.S.A. § 3074 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 82 / Section 3074
§ 3074. Fiscal year
Status: in_force

The fiscal year of the district shall commence on January 1 and end on December 31 of each year, unless otherwise specified in the district's bylaws.
30 V.S.A. § 209 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 209
§ 209. Jurisdiction; general scope
Status: in_force

(a) General jurisdiction. On due notice, the Commission shall have jurisdiction to hear, determine, render judgment, and make orders and decrees in all matters provided for in the charter or articles of any corporation owning or operating any plant, line, or property subject to supervision under this chapter and shall have like jurisdiction in all matters respecting:

(1) the purity, quantity, or quality of any product furnished or sold by any company subject to supervision under this chapter, and may prescribe the equipment for and standard of measurement, pressure, or initial voltage of such product;

(2) the providing for each kind of business subject to supervision under this chapter, suitable and convenient standard commercial units of product or service, which standards shall be lawful for the purposes of this chapter;

(3) the manner of operating and conducting any business subject to supervision under this chapter, so as to be reasonable and expedient, and to promote the safety, convenience, and accommodation of the public;

(4) the price, toll, rate, or rental charged by any company subject to supervision under this chapter, when unreasonable or in violation of law;

(5) the sufficiency and maintenance of proper systems, plants, conduits, appliances, wires, and exchanges, and when the public safety and welfare require the location of such wires or any portion thereof underground;

(6) to restrain any company subject to supervision under this chapter from violations of law, unjust discriminations, usurpation, or extortion;

(7) the issue of stock, mortgages, bonds, or other securities as provided in section 108 of this title;

(8) the sale to electric companies of electricity generated by facilities:

(A) that produce electric energy solely by the use of biomass, waste, renewable resources, cogeneration, or any combination thereof;

(B) that are owned by a person not primarily engaged in the generation or sale of electric power, excluding power derived from facilities described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (8); and

(C) that have a power production capacity that, together with any other facilities located at the same site, is not greater than 80 megawatts; and

(9) the issuance of qualified cost mitigation charge orders pertaining to facilities described in subdivision (8) of this subsection, subject to the terms and conditions of section 209a of this title.

(b) Required rules. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 218 of this chapter, the Public Utility Commission shall, under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, adopt rules applicable to companies subject to this chapter that:

(1) regulate or prescribe terms and conditions of extension of utility service to customers or applicants for service including:

(A) the conditions under which a deposit may be required, if any;

(B) the extension of service lines;

(C) the terms of payment of any required deposit; and

(D) the return of any deposit;

(2) regulate or prescribe the grounds upon which the companies may disconnect or refuse to reconnect service to customers; and

(3) regulate and prescribe reasonable procedures used by companies in disconnecting or reconnecting services and billing customers.

(c) Uninterrupted service; reasonable terms. Rules adopted under subsection (b) of this section shall be aimed at protection of the health and safety of utility customers so that uninterrupted utility service may be continued on reasonable terms for the utility and its customers. Such rules shall also ensure that a reasonable rate of interest, adjusted for variations in market interest rates, be set on security deposits held by utility companies.

(d) Energy efficiency.

(1) Programs and measures. The Department of Public Service, any entity appointed by the Commission under subdivision (2) of this subsection, all gas and electric utility companies, and the Commission upon its own motion are encouraged to propose, develop, solicit, and monitor energy efficiency and conservation programs and measures, including appropriate combined heat and power systems that result in the conservation and efficient use of energy and meet the applicable air quality standards of the Agency of Natural Resources. Such programs and measures, and their implementation, may be approved by the Commission if it determines they will be beneficial to the ratepayers of the companies after such notice and hearings as the Commission may require by order or by rule. The Department of Public Service shall investigate the feasibility of enhancing and expanding the efficiency programs of gas utilities and shall make any appropriate proposals to the Commission.

(2) Appointment of independent efficiency entities.

(A) Electricity and natural gas. In place of utility-specific programs developed pursuant to this section and section 218c of this title, the Commission shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing, provide for the development, implementation, and monitoring of gas and electric energy efficiency and conservation programs and measures, including programs and measures delivered in multiple service territories, by one or more entities appointed by the Commission for these purposes. The Commission may include appropriate combined heat and power systems that result in the conservation and efficient use of energy and meet the applicable air quality standards of the Agency of Natural Resources. Except with regard to a transmission company, the Commission may specify that the appointment of an energy efficiency utility to deliver services within an electric utility's service territory satisfies that electric utility's corresponding obligations, in whole or in part, under section 218c of this title and under any prior orders of the Commission.

(B) Thermal energy and process-fuel customers. The Commission shall provide for the coordinated development, implementation, and monitoring of cost-effective efficiency and conservation programs to thermal energy and process-fuel customers on a whole buildings basis by one or more entities appointed by the Commission for this purpose.

(i) In this section, “thermal energy” means the use of fuels to control the temperature of space within buildings and to heat water.

(ii) Periodically on a schedule directed by the Commission, the appointed entity or entities shall propose to the Commission a plan to implement this subdivision (d)(2)(B). The proposed plan shall comply with subsections (e)-(g) of this section and shall be subject to the Commission's approval. The Commission shall not conduct the review of the proposed plan as a contested case under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 but shall provide notice and an opportunity for written and oral comments to the public and affected parties and State agencies.

(3) Energy efficiency charge; regulated fuels. In addition to its existing authority, the Commission may establish by order or rule a volumetric charge to customers for the support of energy efficiency programs that meet the requirements of section 218c of this title, with due consideration to the State's energy policy under section 202a of this title and to its energy and economic policy interests under section 218e of this title to maintain and enhance the State's economic vitality. The charge shall be known as the energy efficiency charge, shall be shown separately on each customer's bill, and shall be paid to a fund administrator appointed by the Commission and deposited into the Electric Efficiency Fund. When such a charge is shown, notice as to how to obtain information about energy efficiency programs approved under this section shall be provided in a manner directed by the Commission. This notice shall include, at a minimum, a toll-free telephone number, and to the extent feasible shall be on the customer's bill and near the energy efficiency charge.

(A) Balances in the Electric Efficiency Fund shall be ratepayer funds, shall be used to support the activities authorized in this subdivision, and shall be carried forward and remain in the Fund at the end of each fiscal year. These monies shall not be available to meet the general obligations of the State. Interest earned shall remain in the Fund. The Commission will annually provide the General Assembly with a report detailing the revenues collected and the expenditures made for energy efficiency programs under this section. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report to be made under this subsection (d).

(B) The charge established by the Commission pursuant to this subdivision (3) shall be in an amount determined by the Commission by rule or order that is consistent with the principles of least-cost integrated planning as defined in section 218c of this title. As circumstances and programs evolve, the amount of the charge shall be reviewed for unrealized energy efficiency potential and shall be adjusted as necessary in order to realize all reasonably available, cost-effective energy efficiency savings. In setting the amount of the charge and its allocation, the Commission shall determine an appropriate balance among the following objectives; provided, however, that particular emphasis shall be accorded to the first four of these objectives: reducing the size of future power purchases; reducing the generation of greenhouse gases; limiting the need to upgrade the State's transmission and distribution infrastructure; minimizing the costs of electricity; reducing Vermont's total energy demand, consumption, and expenditures; providing efficiency and conservation as a part of a comprehensive resource supply strategy; providing the opportunity for all Vermonters to participate in efficiency and conservation programs; and targeting efficiency and conservation efforts to locations, markets, or customers where they may provide the greatest value.

(C) The Commission, by rule or order, shall establish a process by which a customer who pays an average annual energy efficiency charge under this subdivision (3) of at least $5,000.00 may apply to the Commission to self-administer energy efficiency through an energy savings account or customer credit program that shall contain up to 75 percent and 90 percent, respectively of the customer's energy efficiency charge payments as determined by the Commission. The remaining portion of the charge shall be used for administrative, measurement, verification, and evaluation costs and for systemwide energy benefits. Customer energy efficiency funds may be approved for use by the Commission for one or more of the following: electric energy efficiency projects and non-electric efficiency projects, which may include thermal and process fuel efficiency, flexible load management, combined heat and power systems, demand management, energy productivity, and energy storage. These funds shall not be used for the purchase or installation of new equipment capable of combusting fossil fuels. The Commission in its rules or order shall establish criteria for each program and approval of these applications, establish application and enrollment periods, establish participant requirements, and establish the methodology for evaluation, measurement, and verification for programs. The total amount of customer energy efficiency funds that can be placed into energy savings accounts or the customer credit program annually is $2,000,000.00 and $1,000,000.00 respectively.

(D) The Commission may authorize the use of funds raised through an energy efficiency charge on electric ratepayers to reduce the use of fossil fuels for space heating by supporting electric technologies that may increase electric consumption, such as air source or geothermal heat pumps if, after investigation, it finds that deployment of the technology:

(i) will be beneficial to electric ratepayers as a whole;

(ii) will result in cost-effective energy savings to the end-user and to the State as a whole;

(iii) will result in a net reduction in State energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions on a life-cycle basis and will not have a detrimental impact on the environment through other means such as release of refrigerants or disposal. In making a finding under this subdivision, the Commission shall consider the use of the technology at all times of year and any likely new electricity demand created by such use;

(iv) will be part of a comprehensive energy efficiency and conservation program that meets the requirements of subsections (d)-(g) of this section and that makes support for the technology contingent on the energy performance of the building in which the technology is to be installed. The building's energy performance shall achieve or shall be improved to achieve an energy performance level that is approved by the Commission and that is consistent with meeting or exceeding the goals of 10 V.S.A. § 581 (building efficiency);

(v) among the product models of the technology that are suitable for use in Vermont, will employ the product models that are the most efficient available;

(vi) will be promoted in conjunction with demand management strategies offered by the customer's distribution utility to address any increase in peak electric consumption that may be caused by the deployment;

(vii) will be coordinated between the energy efficiency and distribution utilities, consistent with subdivision (f)(5) of this section; and

(viii) will be supported by an appropriate allocation of funds among the funding sources described in this subsection (d) and subsection (e) of this section. In the case of measures used to increase the energy performance of a building in which the technology is to be installed, the Commission shall assume installation of the technology in the building and then determine the allocation according to the proportion of the benefits provided to the regulated fuel and unregulated fuel sectors. In this subdivision (viii), “regulated fuel” and “unregulated fuel” shall have the same meaning as under subsection (e) of this section.

(4) Contract or order of appointment. Appointment of an entity under subdivision (2) of this subsection may be by contract or by an order of appointment. An appointment, whether by order of appointment or by contract, may only be issued after notice and opportunity for hearing. An order of appointment shall be for a limited duration not to exceed 12 years, although an entity may be reappointed by order or contract. An order of appointment may include any conditions and requirements that the Commission deems appropriate to promote the public good. For good cause, after notice and opportunity for hearing, the Commission may amend or revoke an order of appointment.

(5) Appointed entity; supervision. Any entity appointed by order of appointment under subdivisions (2) and (4) of this subsection that is not an electric or gas utility already regulated under this title shall not be considered to be a company as defined under section 201 of this title but shall be subject to the provisions of sections 18-21, 30-32, 205-208, subsection 209(a), sections 219, 221, and subsection 231(b) of this title, to the same extent as a company as defined under section 201 of this title. The Commission and the Department of Public Service shall have jurisdiction under those sections over the entity, its directors, receivers, trustees, lessees, or other persons or companies owning or operating the entity and of all plants, equipment, and property of that entity used in or about the business carried on by it in this State as covered and included in this section. This jurisdiction shall be exercised by the Commission and the Department so far as may be necessary to enable them to perform the duties and exercise the powers conferred upon them by law. The Commission and the Department each may, when they deem the public good requires, examine the plants, equipment, and property of any entity appointed by order of appointment under subdivisions (2) and (4) of this subsection.

(e) Thermal energy and process fuel efficiency funding.

(1) Each of the following shall be used to deliver thermal energy and process fuel energy efficiency services in accordance with this section for unregulated fuels to Vermont consumers of such fuels. In addition, the Commission may authorize an entity appointed to deliver such services under subdivision (d)(2)(B) of this section to use monies subject to this subsection for the engineering, design, and construction of facilities for the conversion of thermal energy customers using fossil fuels to district heat if the majority of the district's energy is from biomass sources, the district's distribution system is highly energy efficient, and such conversion is cost effective.

(A) Net revenues above costs associated with payments from the New England Independent System Operator (ISO-NE) for capacity savings resulting from the activities of the energy efficiency utility designated under subdivision (2)(A) of this subsection (e) that are not transferred to the State PACE Reserve Fund under 24 V.S.A. § 3270(c). These revenues shall be deposited into the Electric Efficiency Fund established by this section. In delivering services with respect to heating systems using the revenues subject to this subdivision (A), the entity shall give priority to incentives for the installation of high efficiency biomass heating systems and shall have a goal of offering an incentive that is equal to 25 percent of the installed cost of such a system. Provision of an incentive under this subdivision (A) for a biomass heating system shall not be contingent on the making of other energy efficiency improvements at the property on which the system will be installed.

(B) Net revenues above costs from the sale of carbon credits under the cap and trade program established under section 255 of this title, which shall be deposited into the Electric Efficiency Fund established by this section.

(C) Any other monies that are appropriated to or deposited in the Electric Efficiency Fund for the delivery of thermal energy and process fuel energy efficiency services.

(2) If a program combines regulated fuel efficiency services with unregulated fuel efficiency services supported by funds under this section, the Commission shall allocate the costs of the program among the funding sources for the regulated and unregulated fuel sectors in proportion to the benefits provided to each sector.

(3) In this subsection:

(A) “Biomass” means organic nonfossil material constituting a source of renewable energy within the meaning of section 8002 of this title.

(B) “District heat” means a system through which steam or hot water from a central plant is piped into buildings to be used as a source of thermal energy.

(C) “Efficiency services” includes the establishment of a statewide information clearinghouse under subsection (g) of this section.

(D) “Fossil fuel” means an energy source formed in the earth's crust from decayed organic material. The common fossil fuels are petroleum, coal, and natural gas. A fossil fuel may be a regulated or unregulated fuel.

(E) “Regulated fuels” means electricity and natural gas delivered by a regulated utility.

(F) “Unregulated fuels” means fuels used by thermal energy and process fuel customers other than electricity and natural gas delivered by a regulated utility.

(f) Goals and criteria; all energy efficiency programs. With respect to all energy efficiency programs approved under this section, the Commission shall:

(1) Ensure that all retail consumers, regardless of retail electricity, gas, or heating or process fuel provider, will have an opportunity to participate in and benefit from a comprehensive set of cost-effective energy efficiency programs and initiatives designed to overcome barriers to participation.

(2) Require that continued or improved efficiencies be made in the production, delivery, and use of energy efficiency services, including the use of compensation mechanisms for any energy efficiency entity appointed under subdivision (d)(2) of this section that are based upon verified savings in energy usage and demand, and other performance targets specified by the Commission. The linkage between compensation and verified savings in energy usage and demand (and other performance targets) shall be reviewed and adjusted not less than triennially by the Commission.

(3) Build on the energy efficiency expertise and capabilities that have developed or may develop in the State.

(4) Promote program initiatives and market strategies that address the needs of persons or businesses facing the most significant barriers to participation, including those who do not own their place of residence.

(5) Promote and ensure coordinated program delivery, including coordination with low-income weatherization programs, entities that fund and support affordable housing, regional and local efficiency entities within the State, other efficiency programs, and utility programs.

(6) Consider innovative approaches to delivering energy efficiency, including strategies to encourage third party financing and customer contributions to the cost of efficiency measures.

(7) Provide a reasonably stable multiyear budget and planning cycle in order to promote program improvement, program stability, enhanced access to capital and personnel, improved integration of program designs with the budgets of regulated companies providing energy services, and maturation of programs and delivery resources.

(8) Approve programs, measures, and delivery mechanisms that reasonably reflect current and projected market conditions, technological options, and environmental benefits.

(9) Provide for delivery of these programs as rapidly as possible, taking into consideration the need for these services, and cost-effective delivery mechanisms.

(10) Provide for the independent evaluation of programs delivered under subsection (d) of this section.

(11) Require that any entity appointed by the Commission under subsection (d) of this section deliver Commission-approved programs in an effective, efficient, timely, and competent manner and meet standards that are consistent with those in section 218c of this title, the Board's orders in Public Service Board docket 5270, and any relevant Board orders in subsequent energy efficiency proceedings.

(12) Require verification, on or before January 1, 2003, and every three years thereafter, by an independent auditor of the reported energy and capacity savings and cost-effectiveness of programs delivered by any entity appointed by the Commission to deliver energy efficiency programs under subdivision (d)(2) of this section.

(13) Ensure that any energy efficiency program approved by the Commission shall be reasonable and cost-effective.

(14) Consider the impact on retail electric rates and bills of programs delivered under subsection (d) of this section and the impact on fuel prices and bills.

(15) Ensure that the energy efficiency programs implemented under this section are designed to make continuous and proportional progress toward attaining the overall State building efficiency goals established by 10 V.S.A. § 581, by promoting all forms of energy end-use efficiency and comprehensive sustainable building design.

(g) Thermal energy and process fuel efficiency programs; additional criteria. With respect to energy efficiency programs delivered under this section to thermal energy and process fuel customers, the Commission shall:

(1) Ensure that programs are delivered on a whole-buildings basis to help meet the State's building efficiency goals established by 10 V.S.A. § 581 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from thermal energy and process fuel use in Vermont.

(2) Require the establishment of a statewide information clearinghouse to enable effective access for customers to and effective coordination across programs. The clearinghouse shall serve as a portal for customers to access thermal energy and process fuel efficiency services and for coordination among State, regional, and local entities involved in the planning or delivery of such services, making referrals as appropriate to service providers and to entities having information on associated environmental issues such as the presence of asbestos in existing insulation.

(3) In consultation with the Agency of Natural Resources, establish annual interim goals starting in 2014 to meet the 2017 and 2020 goals for improving the energy fitness of housing stock stated in 10 V.S.A. § 581(1).

(4) Ensure the monitoring of the State's progress in meeting the goals of 10 V.S.A. § 581(1). This monitoring shall be performed according to a standard methodology and on a periodic basis that is not less than annual.

(h) Electricity labeling. The Public Utility Commission may prescribe, by rule or order, standards for the labeling of electricity delivered or intended for delivery to ultimate consumers as to price, terms, sources, and objective environmental impacts, along with such procedures as it deems necessary for verification of information contained in such labels. The Public Utility Commission may prescribe, by rule or by order, standards and criteria for the substantiation of such labeling or of any claims regarding the price, terms, sources, and environmental impacts of electricity delivered or intended for delivery to ultimate consumers in Vermont, along with enforcement procedures and penalties. When establishing standards for the labeling of electricity, the Commission shall weigh the cost, as well as the benefits, of compliance with such standards. With respect to companies distributing electricity to ultimate consumers, the Commission may order disclosure and publication, not to occur more than once each year, of any labeling required pursuant to the standards established by this subsection. Standards established under this subsection may include provisions for:

(1) the form of labels;

(2) information on retail and wholesale price;

(3) terms and conditions of service;

(4) types of generation resources in a seller's mix and percentage of power produced from each source;

(5) disclosure of the environmental effects of each energy source; and

(6) a description of other services, including energy services or energy efficiency opportunities.

(i) Pole attachments; broadband.

(1) For the purposes of Commission rules on attachments to poles owned by companies subject to regulation under this title, broadband service providers shall be considered “attaching entities” with equivalent rights to attach facilities as those provided to “attaching entities” in the rules, regardless of whether such broadband providers offer a service subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission. The Commission shall adopt rules in accordance with 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 to further implement this section. The rules shall be aimed at furthering the State's interest in ubiquitous deployment of mobile telecommunications and broadband services within the State.

(2) The rules adopted pursuant to this subsection shall specify that:

(A) The applicable make-ready completion period shall not be extended solely because a utility pole is jointly owned.

(B) At the time of an initial pole make-ready survey application, when a pole is jointly owned, the joint owners shall inform the applicant which owner is responsible for all subsequent stages and timely completion of the make-ready process.

(C) If the make-ready work is not completed within the applicable make-ready completion period, the pole owner, within 30 days following the expiration of the make-ready completion period, shall refund the portion of the payment received for make-ready work that is not yet completed, and the attaching entity may hire a qualified contractor to complete the make-ready work. All pole owners and attaching entities shall submit to the Commission a list of contractors whom they allow to perform make-ready surveys, make-ready installation or maintenance, or other specified tasks upon their equipment. The Commission shall provide the appropriate list to an attaching entity, upon request.

(j) Self-managed energy efficiency programs.

(1) There shall be a class of self-managed energy efficiency programs for transmission and industrial electric ratepayers only.

(2) The Commission, by order, shall enact this class of programs.

(3) Entities approved to participate in the self-managed energy efficiency program class shall be exempt from all statewide charges under subdivision (d)(3) of this section that support energy efficiency programs performed by or on behalf of Vermont electric utilities. If an electric ratepayer approved to participate in this program class also is a customer of a natural gas utility, the ratepayer shall be exempt from all charges under subdivision (d)(3) of this section or contained within the rates charged by the natural gas utility to the ratepayer that support energy efficiency programs performed by or on behalf of that utility, provided that the ratepayer complies with this subsection.

(4) All of the following shall apply to a class of programs under this subsection:

(A) A member of the transmission or industrial electric rate class shall be eligible to apply to participate in the self-managed energy efficiency program class if the charges to the applicant, or to its predecessor in interest at the served property, under subdivision (d)(3) of this section were a minimum of:

(i) $1.5 million during calendar year 2008; or

(ii) $1.5 million during calendar year 2017.

(B) A cost-based fee to be determined by the Commission shall be charged to the applicant to cover the administrative costs, including savings verification, incurred by the Commission and Department. The Commission shall determine procedures for savings verification. Such procedures shall be consistent with savings verification procedures established for entities appointed under subdivision (d)(2) of this section and, when determined to be cost-effective under subdivision (L) of this subdivision (4), with the requirements of ISO-New England for the forward capacity market (FCM) program.

(C) An applicant shall demonstrate to the Commission that it has a comprehensive energy management program with annual objectives. Achievement of certification of ISO standard 14001 shall be eligible to satisfy the requirements of having a comprehensive program.

(D) An applicant eligible pursuant to subdivision (A)(i) of this subdivision (j)(4) shall commit to an annual average investment in energy efficiency and energy productivity programs and measures during each three-year period that the applicant participates in the program of not less than $1 million. An applicant eligible pursuant to subdivision (A)(ii) of this subdivision (j)(4) shall commit to an annual average investment in energy efficiency and energy productivity programs and measures during each three-year period that the applicant participates in the program of not less than $500,000.00. To achieve the exemption from energy efficiency charges related to natural gas under subdivision (3) of this subsection (j), an applicant shall make an additional annual energy efficiency investment in an amount not less than $55,000.00. As used in this subsection (j), “energy productivity programs and measures” means investments that reduce the amount of energy required to produce a unit of product below baseline energy use. Baseline energy use shall be calculated as the average amount of energy required to make one unit of the same product in the two years preceding implementation of the program or measure.

(E) Participation in the self-managed program includes efficiency and productivity programs and measures applicable to electric and other forms of energy. A participant may balance investments in such programs and measures across all types of energy or fuels without limitations.

(F) A participant shall provide to the Commission and Department annually an accounting of investments in energy efficiency and energy productivity programs and measures and the resultant energy savings in the form prescribed by the Commission, which may conduct reasonable audits to ensure the accuracy of the data provided.

(G) The Commission shall report to the General Assembly annually on or before April 30 concerning the prior calendar year's class of self-managed energy efficiency programs. The report shall include identification of participants, their annual investments and resulting savings, and any actions taken to exclude entities from the program.

(H) Upon approval of an application by the Commission, the applicant shall be able to participate in the class of self-managed energy efficiency programs.

(I) On a determination that, for a given three-year period, a participant in the self-managed efficiency program class did not meet or has not met the commitment required by subdivision (D) of this subdivision (j)(4), the Commission shall terminate the participant's eligibility for the self-managed program class.

(i) On such termination, the former participant will be subject fully to the then existing charges applicable to its rate class without exemption under subdivision (3) of this subsection (j), and within 90 days after such termination shall pay:

(I) the difference between the investment it made pursuant to the self-managed energy efficiency program during the three-year period of noncompliance and the full amount of the charges and rates related to energy efficiency it would have incurred during that period absent exemption under subdivision (3) of this subsection (j); and

(II) the difference between the investment it made pursuant to the program within the current three-year period, if different from the period of noncompliance, and the full amount of the charges and rates related to energy efficiency it would have incurred during the current period absent exemption under subdivision (3) of this subsection (j).

(ii) Payments under subdivision (i) of this subdivision (4)(I) shall be made to the entities to which the full amount of charges and rates would have been paid absent exemption under subdivision (3) of this subsection (j).

(iii) A former participant may not reapply for membership in the self-managed program after termination under this subdivision (4)(I).

(J) A participant in the self-managed program class may request confidentiality of data it reports to the Commission if the data would qualify for exemption from disclosure under 1 V.S.A. § 317. If such confidentiality is requested, the Commission shall disclose the data only in accordance with a protective agreement approved by the Commission and signed by the recipient of the data, unless a court orders otherwise.

(K) Any data not subject to a confidentiality request under subdivision (J) of this subdivision (4) will be a public record.

(L) A participant in the self-managed program class shall work with the Department of Public Service to determine whether it is cost-effective to submit projects to ISO-New England for payments under the FCM program.

(i) As used in this subdivision (L), “cost-effective” requires that the estimated payments from the FCM program exceed the incremental cost of savings verification necessary for submission to that program.

(ii) If the Department determines the submission to be cost-effective, then an entity appointed to deliver electric energy efficiency services under subdivision (d)(2) of this section shall submit the project to the FCM program for payment and any resulting payments shall be remitted to the Electric Efficiency Fund for use in accordance with subdivision (e)(1)(A) of this section.

(M) A participant in the self-managed program class may receive funding from an energy program administered by a government or other entity that is not the participant and may count such funds received as part of the annual commitment to its self-managed energy efficiency program.

(N) If, at the end of every third year after an applicant's approval to participate in the self-managed efficiency program (the three-year period), the applicant has not met the commitment required by subdivision (4)(D) of this subsection, the applicant shall pay the difference between the investment the applicant made while in the self-managed energy efficiency program and the full amount of charges and rates that the applicant would have incurred absent the exemption under subdivision (3) of this subsection. This payment shall be made no later than 90 days after the end of the three-year period to the entities to which the full amount of those charges and rates would have been paid absent the exemption.

(5) This subdivision applies to a transferee of all or substantially all of the assets at the served property of an entity approved to participate in the self-managed energy efficiency program. The Commission shall allow the transferee to continue as a participant in the self-managed energy efficiency program class in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions that the transferor participant was authorized to participate, provided:

(A) the transferor participant met the requirements of subdivision (4)(A) of this subsection (j) and the transferee otherwise meets the requirements of this subsection; and

(B) the transferee assumes the obligation to fulfill any outstanding commitment of the transferor participant under subdivision (4)(D) of this subsection.

(k) Energy storage facilities. Except when owned by a retail distribution utility, an energy efficiency utility, or the Vermont Electric Power Company, Inc., competitive suppliers of energy storage services that do not serve retail customers shall be exempt from sections 107, 108, and 109 of this title.
30 V.S.A. § 2906 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 79 / Section 2906
§ 2906. Existing plants
Status: in_force

Within 30 days after the passage of the ratifying vote provided for in section 2903 of this chapter or the vote provided for in section 2904 of this chapter, the mayor of the city, the selectboard of the town, or the trustees of the village shall notify in writing any utility engaged, at the time of the vote required by such sections, in generating or distributing gas or electricity for sale in the municipality, of the vote and request the utility whether it elects to sell and at what price, in the manner provided, that portion of its plant and property located within the municipality that is suitable for and used in connection with the business of the utility, and that portion, if any, lying outside such municipality, that the municipality proposes to purchase.
30 V.S.A. § 3002 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 81 / Section 3002
§ 3002. Powers
Status: in_force

A cooperative shall have power:

(1) To sue and be sued in its corporate name.

(2) To have perpetual existence.

(3) To adopt a corporate seal and alter the same.

(4) To generate, manufacture, purchase, acquire, accumulate, and transmit electric energy; and to distribute, sell, supply, and dispose of energy, cable television, telecommunications, interactive media, and internet access to its members, to governmental agencies, and to political subdivisions; provided, however, that in the generation of electric energy by water power, a cooperative shall comply with the provisions of 10 V.S.A. §§ 1081–1099, relating to the construction and maintenance of dams and, provided further, that a cooperative doing any activity governed by this title shall be regulated for that activity.

(5) To assist persons to whom electric energy is or will be supplied by the cooperative in wiring their premises and in acquiring and installing, in compliance with all applicable codes, electrical and plumbing appliances, equipment, fixtures, and apparatus by the financing thereof or otherwise, and in connection therewith to wire or cause to be wired, such premises and to purchase, acquire, lease as lessor or lessee, sell, distribute, install, and repair such electric and plumbing appliances, equipment, fixtures, and apparatus with the intention that members of the cooperative make the most efficient use of energy.

(6) To work cooperatively with governmental entities or private sector institutions, or a combination of both, for purposes of economic or community development, to benefit cooperative members in their communities.

(7) To construct, purchase, lease as lessee or lessor, or otherwise acquire, and to equip, maintain, and operate; and to sell, assign, convey, mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of or encumber electric transmission and distribution lines or systems, electric generating plants, electric cold storage or processing plants, lands, buildings, structures, dams, plants, equipment, and any other real or personal property tangible or intangible, which shall be deemed necessary, convenient, or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the cooperative is organized. However, in the generation of electric energy by water power, a cooperative shall comply with the provisions of 10 V.S.A. §§ 1081–1099, relating to the construction and maintenance of dams.

(8) To purchase, lease as lessee, or otherwise acquire and to use and exercise and to sell, assign, convey, mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of or encumber, franchises, rights, privileges, licenses, and easements.

(9) To borrow money and otherwise contract indebtedness and to issue notes, bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness; and to secure the payment thereof by mortgage, pledge, or deed of trust of, or other encumbrance upon, any or all of its then owned or after-acquired real or personal property, assets, franchises, revenues, or income.

(10) To construct, maintain, and operate electric transmission and distribution lines along, upon, under, and across publicly owned land and public thoroughfares, including all roads, highways, streets, alleys, bridges, and causeways in the manner provided by chapters 71, 73, and 75 of this title.

(11) To become a member of one or more other cooperatives formed under this chapter or under the laws of another state or the District of Columbia, to own all or part-ownership interest in a domestic or foreign corporation, and to hold all or part-ownership in a partnership, joint venture, or other entity, provided that such stock or other ownership interest shall be limited to entities with business purposes or operations that are consistent with the purposes set out in section 3001a of this title for which a cooperative may be organized and that will provide products or services to members of the cooperative.

(12) To conduct its business and exercise its powers within or outside this State.

(13) To adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws.

(14) To do and perform any other acts and things and to have and exercise any other powers that may be necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the cooperative is organized.

(15) For purposes of providing electric power, to condemn property within the State, or easements or other limited rights, in the manner provided for public service corporations by sections 111–124 of this title, when it is necessary in order that it may render adequate electric service.
30 V.S.A. § 111 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 3 / Section 111
§ 111. Petition; notice of hearing
Status: in_force

(a) Such corporation shall present a petition to the Public Utility Commission and to the Department of Public Service describing the property or right, and stating why it is unable to acquire it without condemnation, and why its acquisition is necessary. The Commission shall set a time and place for hearing such petition and shall issue a citation. The Department, after appropriate investigation, shall present at the hearing on the petition its position on the need for the acquisition, any alternatives to the acquisition, and its recommendations on the acquisition.

(b) The citation shall be served upon each person having any legal interest in the property, including each municipality and each planning body where the property is situate like a summons, or on absent persons in such manner as the Supreme Court may by rule provide for service of process in civil actions. The Commission, in its discretion, may schedule a joint hearing of some or all petitions relating to the same project and concerning properties or rights located in the same town or abutting towns.
30 V.S.A. § 8129 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 94 / Section 8129
§ 8129. Clean Heat Standard Equity Advisory Group
Status: in_force

(a) The Commission shall establish the Clean Heat Standard Equity Advisory Group to assist the Commission in developing and implementing the Clean Heat Standard in a manner that ensures an equitable share of clean heat measures are delivered to Vermonters with low income and moderate income and that Vermonters with low income and moderate income who are not early participants in clean heat measures are not negatively impacted in their ability to afford heating fuel. Its duties shall include:

(1) providing feedback to the Commission on strategies for engaging Vermonters with low income and moderate income in the public process for developing the Clean Heat Standard program;

(2) supporting the Commission in assessing whether customers are equitably served by clean heat measures and how to increase equity;

(3) identifying actions needed to provide customers with low income and moderate income with better service and to mitigate the fuel price impacts calculated in section 8128 of this title;

(4) recommending any additional programs, incentives, or funding needed to support customers with low income and moderate income and organizations that provide social services to Vermonters in affording heating fuel and other heating expenses;

(5) providing feedback to the Commission on the impact of the Clean Heat Standard on the experience of Vermonters with low income and moderate income; and

(6) providing information to the Commission on the challenges renters and residents of manufactured homes face in equitably accessing clean heat measures and recommendations to ensure that renters and residents of manufactured homes have equitable access to clean heat measures.

(b) The Clean Heat Standard Equity Advisory Group shall consist of up to 10 members appointed by the Commission and at a minimum shall include at least one representative from each of the following groups: the Department of Public Service; the Department for Children and Families' Office of Economic Opportunity; a community action agency with expertise in low-income weatherization; a community action agency with expertise in serving residents of manufactured homes; Efficiency Vermont; the Vermont Association of Area Agencies on Aging; individuals with socioeconomically, racially, and geographically diverse backgrounds; renters; rental property owners; the Vermont Housing Finance Agency; and a member of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association. Members who are not otherwise compensated by their employer shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement for expenses under 32 V.S.A. § 1010.

(c) The Equity Advisory Group shall cease to exist when the initial Clean Heat Standard rules are adopted. Thereafter, the issues described in subsection (a) of this section shall be reviewed by the Commission, in compliance with 3 V.S.A. chapter 72.
30 V.S.A. § 101 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 3 / Section 101
§ 101. Corporations subject to Commission; formation
Status: in_force

(a) Subject to the additional or varied requirements of this chapter, a corporation may be formed pursuant to the provisions of the general corporation law for the sole purpose of conducting any one or more of the kinds of business, other than a railroad business, that are subject to regulation by the Public Utility Commission.

(b) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, references in this title to a “corporation” mean and include an individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, municipality, cooperative, and any other legally recognized entity or person.

(c) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, references in this title to “articles of incorporation” mean and include articles of organization, partnership agreements, or other documentation submitted to the Vermont Secretary of State to register or form a business.
30 V.S.A. § 3077 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 82 / Section 3077
§ 3077. Pledge of revenues
Status: in_force

(a) When the board, at a regular or special meeting called for such purpose, determines by resolution passed by a vote of a majority of members present and voting that the public interest or necessity demands communications plant improvements, or a long-term contract, and that the cost of the same will be too great to be paid out of the ordinary annual income and revenue of the district, the board may pledge communications plant net revenues and enter into long-term contracts to provide for such improvements. A “long-term contract” means an agreement in which the district incurs direct or conditional obligations for which the costs are too great to be paid out of the ordinary annual income and revenues of the district, in the judgment of the board. It includes an agreement authorized under 24 V.S.A. § 1789, wherein performance by the district is conditioned upon periodic appropriations. The term “communications plant improvements” includes improvements that may be used for the benefit of the public, whether or not publicly owned or operated.

(b) The pledge of communications plant net revenues, and other obligations allowed by law, may be authorized for any purpose permitted by this chapter, 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 2, and chapter 54, or any other applicable statutes. A communications plant is declared to be a project within the meaning of 24 V.S.A. § 1821(4).
30 V.S.A. § 202b — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 202b
§ 202b. State Comprehensive Energy Plan
Status: in_force

(a) The Department of Public Service, in conjunction with other State agencies designated by the Governor, shall prepare a State Comprehensive Energy Plan covering at least a 20-year period. The Plan shall seek to implement the State energy policy set forth in section 202a of this title, including meeting the State's greenhouse gas emissions reductions requirements pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 578, and shall be consistent with the relevant goals of 24 V.S.A. § 4302 and with the Vermont Climate Action Plan adopted and updated pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 592. The State Comprehensive Energy Plan shall include:

(1) a comprehensive analysis and projections regarding the use, cost, supply, and environmental effects of all forms of energy resources used within Vermont;

(2) recommendations for State implementation actions, regulation, legislation, and other public and private action to carry out the Comprehensive Energy Plan, including recommendations for State agency energy plans under 3 V.S.A. § 2291 and transportation planning under Title 19; and

(3) recommendations for regional and municipal energy planning and standards for issuing a determination of energy compliance pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 4352.

(b) In developing or updating the Plan's recommendations, the Department of Public Service shall seek public comment by holding public hearings in at least five different geographic regions of the State on at least three different dates, and by providing and maintaining notice on the Department's website for at least 21 days before the day of each hearing and providing and maintaining reasonable notice consistent with best practices for public engagement. The notice shall include an internet address where more information regarding the hearings may be viewed.

(c) The Department shall adopt the State Comprehensive Energy Plan on or before January 1, 2016 and shall readopt the Plan on or before every sixth January 15 thereafter. On adoption or readoption, the Plan shall be submitted to the General Assembly. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to such submission.

(1) Upon adoption of the Plan, analytical portions of the Plan may be updated and published biennially.

(2) Every fourth year after the adoption or readoption of a Plan under this section, the Department shall publish the manner in which the Department will engage the public in the process of readopting the Plan under this section.

(3) The publication requirements of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection may be met by inclusion of the subject matter in the Department's biennial report.

(4) The Plan's implementation recommendations shall be updated by the Department no less frequently than every six years. These recommendations shall be updated prior to the expiration of six years if the General Assembly passes a joint resolution making a request to that effect. If the Department proposes or the General Assembly requests the revision of implementation recommendations, the Department shall hold public hearings on the proposed revisions.

(d) Distribution of the Plan to members of the General Assembly shall be in accordance with the provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(a)-(c).

(e) The Commissioner of Public Service (Commissioner) shall file an annual report on progress in meeting the goals of the Plan. The report shall address each of the following sectors of energy consumption in the State: electricity, nonelectric fuels for thermal purposes, and transportation. In preparing the report, the Commissioner shall consult with the Secretaries of Administration, of Agriculture, Food and Markets, of Natural Resources, and of Transportation and the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services.

(1) The Commissioner shall file the report on or before January 15 of each year, commencing in 2019. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) shall not apply to this report.

(2) The Commissioner shall file the report with the House Committee on Environment and Energy and with the Senate Committees on Finance and on Natural Resources and Energy.

(3) For each sector, the report shall provide:

(A) In millions of British thermal units (MMBTUs) for the most recent calendar year for which data are available, the total amount of energy consumed, the amount of renewable energy consumed, and the percentage of renewable energy consumed. For the electricity sector, the report shall also state the amounts in megawatt hours (MWH) of retail sales and load for Vermont as well as for each retail electricity provider and the Vermont and New England summer and winter peak electric demand, including the hour and day of peak demand.

(B) Projections of the energy reductions and shift to renewable energy expected to occur under existing policies, technologies, and markets. The most recent available data shall be used to inform these projections and shall be provided as a supplement to the data described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3).

(C) Recommendations of policies to further the renewable energy requirements and goals set forth in statute and the Plan, along with an evaluation of the relative cost-effectiveness and equity-related impacts of different policy approaches.

(4) The report shall include an analysis setting forth how progress toward the goals of the Plan is supported by complementary work in avoiding or reducing energy consumption through efficiency and demand reduction. In this subdivision, “demand reduction” includes dispatchable measures, such as controlling appliances that consume energy, and nondispatchable measures, such as weatherization.

(5) The report shall include recommendations on methods to enhance the process for planning, tracking, and reporting progress toward meeting statutory energy requirements and the goals of the Plan. Such recommendations may include the consolidation of one or more periodic reports filed by the Department or other State agencies relating to renewable energy, with proposals for amending the statutes relevant to those reports.

(6) The report shall include a summary of the following information for each sector:

(A) major changes in relevant markets, technologies, and costs;

(B) average Vermont prices compared to the other New England states, based on the most recent available data; and

(C) significant Vermont and federal incentive programs that are relevant to one or more of the sectors.

(7) The report shall include the following information on progress toward meeting the Renewable Energy Standard (RES):

(A) An assessment of the costs and benefits of the RES based on the most current available data, including rate and economic impacts, customer savings, technology deployment, greenhouse gas emission reductions achieved both relative to 10 V.S.A § 578 requirements and societally, fuel price stability, effect on transmission and distribution upgrade costs, and any recommended changes based on this assessment.

(i) For the most recent calendar year for which data is available, each retail electricity provider's retail sales and load, in MWh; required amounts of renewable energy for each category of the RES as set forth in section 8005 of this title; and amounts of renewable energy and tradeable renewable energy credits eligible to satisfy the requirements of sections 8004 and 8005 of this title actually owned by the Vermont retail electricity providers, expressed as a percentage of retail sales and total load.

(ii) The report shall summarize the energy transformation projects undertaken pursuant to section 8005 of this title, their costs and benefits, their avoided fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and, if applicable, energy savings.

(iii) The report shall summarize statewide progress toward achieving each of the categories set forth in section 8005 of this title.

(iv) The report shall assess how costs and benefits of the RES are being distributed across State, to the extent possible given available data, by retail electricity service territory, municipality, and environmental justice focus populations, as defined by 3 V.S.A. § 6002. Such an assessment shall consider metrics to monitor affordability of electric rates.

(B) Projections, looking at least 10 years ahead, of the impacts of the RES.

(i) The Department shall consider at least three scenarios based on high, mid-range, and low energy price forecasts.

(ii) The Department shall provide an opportunity for public comment on the model during its development and make the model and associated documents available on the Department's website.

(iii) The Department shall project, for the State, the impact of the RES in each of the following areas: electric utility rates, total energy consumption, electric energy consumption, fossil fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. The report shall compare the amount or level in each of these areas with and without the program.

(C) An assessment of whether the requirements of the RES have been met to date, and any recommended changes needed to achieve those requirements.

(D) A summary of the activities of distributed renewable generation programs that support the achievement of the RES, including:

(i) Standard Offer Program under section 8005a of this title, including the number of plants participating in the Program, the prices paid by the Program, and the plant capacity and average annual energy generation of the participating plants. The report shall present this information as totals for all participating plants and by category of renewable energy technology. The report also shall identify the number of applications received, the number of participating plants under contract, and the number of participating plants actually in service.

(ii) the net metering program, including: the current pace of net metering deployment, both statewide and within the service territory of each retail electricity provider; the ownership and transfer of the environmental attributes of energy generated by net metering systems and of any associated tradeable renewable energy credits; and any other information relevant to the costs and benefits of net metering.

(8) The report shall include any recommendations for statutory change related to sections 8004, 8005, 8005a, 8010, and 8011 of this title.

(9) For the report due in 2029, the Commission shall issue a report on whether it is reasonable to expect that there will be sufficient new regional renewable resources available for a retail electricity provider with 75,000 or more customers to meet its requirement under subdivision 8005(a)(4)(B)(i)(IV) of this title at or below the alternative compliance payment rate for the new renewable generation category of section 8005 of this title during the year beginning on January 1, 2032, or during the years beginning on January 1, 2033 or January 1, 2034. The Commission shall not be required to issue this report in a contested case under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 but shall conduct a proceeding on the issue with opportunities for participation by the retail electricity providers, Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, Renewable Energy Vermont, and other members of the public. Notwithstanding the timeline specified in subdivision (e)(1) of this section, the Commission shall file this annual report on or before December 15, 2028.

(f) During the preparation of reports under this section, the Department shall provide an opportunity for the public to submit relevant information and recommendations.
30 V.S.A. § 2904 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 79 / Section 2904
§ 2904. Towns and villages
Status: in_force

A town or village may acquire or construct a municipal plant, when authorized by three-fifths of the legal voters present and voting by Australian ballot at any annual meeting duly warned. At least 20 days before the annual meeting, the legislative body shall hold a public hearing on the issue of acquisition or construction, giving notice of the public hearing in the same manner as it is given for the annual meeting. In case the voters of the town or village fail to approve the proposal submitted to them, no similar vote shall be taken until the next annual meeting.
30 V.S.A. § 7515b — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 88 / Section 7515b
§ 7515b. Connectivity Initiative
Status: in_force

(a) The Connectivity Initiative shall be administered by the Vermont Community Broadband Board. The purpose of the Connectivity Initiative is to provide each service location in Vermont access to broadband that is capable of speeds of at least 100 Mbps symmetrical. Within this category of service locations, priority shall be given first to unserved and then to underserved locations that are part of a plan to achieve universal broadband coverage in a community or communications union district. As used in this section, “unserved” means a location that only has access to broadband capable of speeds of less than 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload and “underserved” means a location that only has access to broadband capable of speeds of at least 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload but less than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.

(b) The Department of Public Service shall publish annually a list of E-911 locations eligible for funding based on the Department's most recent broadband mapping data. The Board annually shall solicit proposals from communications union districts and from service providers working in conjunction with a communications union district to provide universal broadband service in a community or communications union district, to deploy broadband to eligible E-911 locations. Funding shall be available for capital improvements only, not for operating and maintenance expenses, and shall be available only for projects that the Board determines do not conflict with or undermine the deployment plans of a communications union district. The Board shall give priority to proposals that reflect the lowest cost of providing services to unserved and underserved locations; however, the Board also shall consider:

(1) the proposed data transfer rates and other data transmission characteristics of services that would be available to consumers;

(2) the price to consumers of services;

(3) the proposed cost to consumers of any new construction, equipment installation service, or facility required to obtain service;

(4) whether the proposal would use the best available technology that is economically feasible;

(5) the availability of service of comparable quality and speed;

(6) the objectives of the State's Telecommunications Plan; and

(7) the extent to which a proposal leverages federal or private funding opportunities.

(c) In order to ensure that grants are disbursed based on the value of work completed, the Board shall develop with each grantee a payment schedule that reflects the verified percentage of project completion. To verify project completion, the grantee shall retain a Board-approved third party to conduct independent field testing, which the Board may supplement with provider-supplied data and crowd-sourced user data. If deemed necessary by the Board, the Board may advance a grantee funds necessary for project commencement. The Board shall retain five percent of an award for two years after project completion to ensure continued compliance with contract terms. A grantee shall reimburse the Board any funds received for contracted work that is not completed pursuant to contract specifications.

(d) The Board shall maintain a publicly accessible inventory of completed broadband projects financed in whole or in part with grants under this section.
30 V.S.A. § 2805 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 77 / Section 2805
§ 2805. Appeal; commissioners; hearing on report
Status: in_force

A party to the cause who feels aggrieved by the final order or decree of the Commission shall have the right to take the cause to the Supreme Court. Such appeal shall be taken and the cause entered in the Supreme Court, in the manner and under the law and rules of procedure that govern such appeals from the Superior Court, and the Supreme Court shall have the same power that it has over appeals from the Superior Court. The Supreme Court, if cause is not shown to the contrary, on motion of either party, shall appoint three disinterested freeholders, residents of the county where the appeal is taken, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties, to be commissioners, who shall appoint a time and place of hearing the matter set forth in the petition and give at least six days' notice to the parties; and, after hearing the parties, the commissioners shall report in writing the facts found by them and such other findings as the Court may direct. Upon the return of the report, either party may object to its acceptance for good cause shown and the Court may set aside the report and order a rehearing; but if the Court accepts and establishes the same, the Court may reverse or affirm the orders or decrees made by the Public Utility Commission, and may remand the cause to the Commission with such mandate as law and equity require; and the Commission shall enter an order or decree in accordance with such mandate.
30 V.S.A. § 218b — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 218b
§ 218b. Farm customers; energy efficiency; electric energy generation
Status: in_force

Each Vermont electric distribution utility shall develop and implement comprehensive energy efficiency programs for its livestock and domestic fowl farm customers. Such programs shall include all program measures that the Public Utility Commission determines will be cost-effective as part of the utility's least-cost integrated plan. Utilities shall file such proposed programs by August 1, 1991. The Commission shall require each utility to deliver approved program measures to farm customers as rapidly as possible thereafter, taking into consideration the need for these services, utility financial constraints, and cost-effective delivery mechanisms.
30 V.S.A. § 5039 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 84 / Section 5039
§ 5039. Liberal construction
Status: in_force

Neither this chapter nor anything contained in this chapter is or shall be construed as a restriction or limitation upon any powers that the Authority might otherwise have under any laws of this State, and this chapter is cumulative to any such powers. This chapter does and shall be construed to provide a complete, additional, and alternative method for the doing of the things authorized by it and shall be regarded as supplemental and additional to powers conferred by other laws.
30 V.S.A. § 3010 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 81 / Section 3010
§ 3010. Members necessary for quorum
Status: in_force

Unless the bylaws prescribe the presence of a greater percentage or greater number of members for a quorum, a quorum for the transaction of business at all meetings of the members of a cooperative having not more than 1,000 members, shall be 10 percent of all members, and of a cooperative having more than 1,000 members, shall be 100 members. For the purpose of determining the presence of a quorum under this section, all members shall be counted who are either present in person or who vote on business transacted at the meeting in a manner allowed under section 3011 of this title. If less than a quorum is present at a meeting, a majority of those present in person may adjourn the meeting from time to time without further notice but no business may validly be enacted at any meeting without the presence of a quorum.
30 V.S.A. § 2524 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 71 / Section 2524
§ 2524. Court may enforce order
Status: in_force

When, in such cause, it is finally adjudged that the petitioner may attach his or her line to the poles of the telegraph company, if such company hinders or obstructs such use, the compensation decreed to it having been paid or tendered, the court may proceed against it for contempt.
30 V.S.A. § 3061 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 82 / Section 3061
§ 3061. Quorum
Status: in_force

For the purpose of transacting business, the presence of delegates or alternates representing more than 50 percent of district members shall constitute a quorum. However, a smaller number may adjourn to another date. Any action adopted by a majority of the votes cast at a meeting of the board at which a quorum is present shall be the action of the board, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
30 V.S.A. § 2814 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 77 / Section 2814
§ 2814. Cost; report
Status: in_force

When a customer requests a meter test within 12 months after the date of the installation or of the last previous test of his or her meter, he or she may be required by the company to make a deposit equal to the reasonable cost of such test. The amount so deposited with the company shall be refunded or credited to the customer if the meter has a positive average error, that is, is fast, in excess of four percent, otherwise such deposit may be retained by the company. A customer may be present when the company tests his or her meter or may select an expert or other representative to be present. A written report, giving the results of such test, shall be made to the customer by the company.
30 V.S.A. § 3017 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 81 / Section 3017
§ 3017. Officers, duties
Status: in_force

The officers of a cooperative shall consist of a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer, who shall be elected annually by and from the board of directors. When a person holding office ceases to be a director, he or she shall cease to hold such office. The offices of secretary and treasurer may be held by the same person. A vacancy in the office of secretary may be filled by the board of directors, and the person so elected shall serve until his or her successor is elected. When a cooperative neglects for six months to appoint and have a clerk, it shall forfeit $50.00 to the person injured to be recovered in an action on this statute. The secretary shall record all votes and proceedings of the members and directors or executive committee thereof. He or she shall have the custody of the corporate seal and of the corporate records and shall keep such records within this State. He or she shall keep a book containing a record of the names of the members, the date of their membership and of others served by the cooperative, and of the places of residence of each, which book shall always be open to the inspection of members. He or she shall procure and file in the office of the clerk of the town where the principal office is located and also keep on file in his or her own office certified copies of all papers required by law or by this chapter to be filed with the Secretary of State. The board of directors may also elect or appoint such other officers, agents, or employees as it deems necessary or advisable and shall prescribe their powers and duties. An officer may be removed from office and his or her successor elected in the manner prescribed by the bylaws.
30 V.S.A. § 2902 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 79 / Section 2902
§ 2902. Powers of municipalities
Status: in_force

(a) In accordance with this chapter, a municipality may buy and sell electric current for domestic use and for commercial purposes and construct, purchase or lease, and maintain and operate one or more plants for the manufacture, distribution, purchase, and sale of gas or electricity for the use of the municipality and for the use of the residents of the municipality and for the other customers outside the municipality as the Commission may approve unless otherwise provided for in this chapter. For those purposes a municipality may purchase and hold in fee simple or otherwise any real or personal estate and any rights therein, including water rights and may do all other things necessary for carrying into effect the purposes of this chapter and may excavate and dig conduits and ditches in any highway or other land or place, and erect poles, place wires, and lay pipes for the transmission and distribution of electricity and gas, in such places as may be deemed necessary and proper and in all respects such municipality shall have the same privileges and be subject to the same restrictions as are provided for public service corporations in chapters 71, 73, and 75 of this title. The municipality may change, enlarge, and extend the same from time to time and maintain the same, having due regard for the safety and welfare of its citizens and security of the public travel.

(b) The obligations of any municipal electric utility under any contract authorized by this section or other applicable law shall not be deemed to constitute an indebtedness or a lending of credit of the municipal electric utility, nor shall such obligations be included in computing the borrowing capacity of any such municipal electric utility. These obligations of municipal electric utilities shall be treated as expenses of operating their electric plants, and shall constitute special obligations of such municipal electric utilities payable solely from the revenues and other moneys derived by them from their electric departments or systems. The liability of these municipal electric utilities from other funds is limited to obligations undertaken by them to pay for the electric power and energy used by them.
30 V.S.A. § 2803 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 77 / Section 2803
§ 2803. Procedure; petition; recognizance
Status: in_force

When the parties cannot agree, the procedure for carrying out the provisions of sections 2801 and 2802 of this title shall be by petition brought by the person or party seeking to purchase and receive such electric energy against the party generating or transmitting the same to the Public Utility Commission, setting forth the purpose for which the energy is needed, the amount and such other facts as under the provisions of the section relied upon will entitle the petitioner to purchase and receive such electric energy from the petitionee, and praying that the petitionee may be called upon to answer such petition and for relief. The petitioner shall give sufficient security to the petitionee that he or she will prosecute his or her petition to effect, and pay all costs that may be awarded against him or her.
30 V.S.A. § 5011 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 84 / Section 5011
§ 5011. Creation of Vermont Public Power Supply Authority
Status: in_force

(a) Vermont Public Power Supply System, Inc., a corporation formed under the provisions of subdivision 4003(4) of this title, is hereby declared and established to be a body politic and corporate with duties and powers as are set forth in this chapter, to be known as “Vermont Public Power Supply Authority” to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The Authority is constituted a public instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental functions, and the exercise by the authority of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be deemed and held to be the performance of an essential governmental function of the State.

(b) The Authority shall consist of those municipalities and cooperatives that by January 31, 1979 elected to become a member of Vermont Public Power Supply System, Inc., in accordance with the terms of its bylaws, and those Vermont municipalities and cooperatives that shall later elect to become members of the Authority in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Authority established by it. These rules shall be calculated to permit membership without an undue burden on new members, but with regard to the benefits contributed to the Authority by its original members.

(c) The powers of the Authority shall be exercised by a board of directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of one director from each member municipality or member cooperative, who shall be elected by the legislative body of each member municipality or the board of trustees of each member cooperative. Each municipality or cooperative may also elect an alternate director to serve in the absence or disability of its director. The term of office of a director shall be for one year coincident with the fiscal year of the Authority or until a successor director has been duly elected and qualified. Any director may be removed at the pleasure of the legislative body of the municipality or cooperative that elected that director, upon notice to the authority and the election of a successor director. The Board of Directors of the Authority shall adopt bylaws or other rules for the management of the affairs of the Authority and carrying out the purpose of this chapter. The Board of Directors shall also elect one of its member directors as chair of the Authority and shall also elect a treasurer and secretary who may be directors. It may elect other officers and agents as necessary to perform those acts commonly delegated to the officers and agents of a business corporation and shall set their compensation.

(d) Notwithstanding any law or charter provision to the contrary, a director or officer of the Authority who is also an officer, employee, or member of a legislative body of a municipality or other public body or the State shall not be precluded from voting or acting on behalf of the Authority on a matter involving the municipality or public body or the State. Neither shall service as a director or officer of the Authority constitute a conflict of interest for an officer, employee, or member of a municipality or public body or the State.

(e) The Authority and its existence shall continue as long as it shall have notes, bonds, or other obligations or indebtedness outstanding, including notes, bonds, or other obligations or indebtedness hereafter issued or incurred, and until its existence is terminated by law. The net earnings of the Authority, beyond that necessary for retirement of its notes, bonds, or other obligations or indebtedness or to implement the public purposes and programs authorized in this chapter, shall not inure to the benefit of any person other than the State. Upon termination of the existence of the Authority, title to all of the property owned by the Authority, including any net earnings of the Authority, shall vest in the State. The State reserves the right at any time to alter, amend, repeal, or otherwise change the structure, organization, programs, or activities of the Authority, including the power to terminate the Authority, subject to any limitation on the impairment of the obligation of any contract or contracts entered into by the Authority.
30 V.S.A. § 510 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 13 / Section 510
§ 510. Notice to subscribers regarding quality of service
Status: in_force

(a) Annually, every company shall cause to be mailed to each of its subscribers a notice that:

(1) states that the Commission and the Department of Public Service desire to hear the views of subscribers regarding the quality of services provided by the cable television system and as to the reasonableness of the terms upon which such services are provided; and

(2) informs subscribers as to how to communicate their views to the Commission, to the Department, and to the company.

(b) The notice required by this section shall be in nontechnical language, comprehensible to the lay public, and in a form approved by the Commission.

(c) On or before January 30 of each year, the company shall certify to the Commission, under oath, that it has distributed the notice during the previous calendar year as required by this section.
30 V.S.A. § 401 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 401
§ 401. Lake Seymour
Status: in_force

The Public Utility Commission shall ascertain and establish the natural maximum and minimum water levels of Lake Seymour at the outlet, excluding from its determination of such levels the effect on natural conditions disturbed by blasting of the barrier, changes in the depth and width of the channel above and below the barrier, as well as the effect the present control dam may have on such levels. When such levels are so established, the Commission shall certify its findings to the Secretary of State and cause the same to be recorded in the offices of the town clerks of the towns of Morgan and Charleston.
30 V.S.A. § 208b — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 208b
§ 208b. Unauthorized billing
Status: in_force

A company subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission shall not send a bill to a consumer for goods or services that the company provides and that will appear as a charge on the consumer's telecommunications bill without the consumer's consent. The Department shall develop a consumer education plan to ensure that consumers of telecommunications services have adequate notice of this requirement. A company that violates this section shall be subject to the remedies authorized by this title, including penalties authorized by section 30 and injunctions authorized by section 209.
30 V.S.A. § 2911 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 79 / Section 2911
§ 2911. Effect of negative vote for acquisition of utility property
Status: in_force

Within 90 days following the final determination of the price to be paid for the plant and property, as well as the amount of the plant and property to be taken or acquired under the provisions of section 2909 or 2910 of this chapter, the municipality shall decide whether or not to take the plant or property at that price by a vote taken pursuant to procedures similar to those used in obtaining a ratifying vote as provided in section 2908 of this chapter. If that vote is in the negative, no other action under this chapter shall be had during the ensuing period of one year.
30 V.S.A. § 4007 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 83 / Section 4007
§ 4007. Severability
Status: in_force

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance shall be held to be invalid, the remainder of the chapter, and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
30 V.S.A. § 53 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Section 53
§ 53. Commercial building energy standards
Status: in_force

(a) Definitions. In this subchapter, “commercial buildings” means all buildings that are not residential buildings as defined in subdivision 51(a)(2) of this title or farm structures as defined in 24 V.S.A. § 4413.

(1) The following commercial buildings, or portions of those buildings, separated from the remainder of the building by thermal envelope assemblies complying with this section shall be exempt from the building thermal envelope provisions of the standards:

(A) those that do not contain conditioned space; and

(B) those with a peak design rate of energy usage less than an amount specified in the commercial building energy standards (CBES) adopted under subsection (b) of this section.

(2) These standards shall not apply to equipment or portions of building energy systems that use energy primarily to provide for industrial or manufacturing processes.

(3) With respect to a structure that is a mixed-use building that shares residential and commercial users:

(A) if the structure is three stories or fewer in height, the term “commercial building” shall include all commercial uses within the structure and all common areas and facilities that serve both residential and commercial uses; and

(B) if the structure is four stories or more in height, the term “commercial building” shall include all uses and areas within the structure.

(b) Adoption of commercial building energy standards. Commercial building construction with respect to which any local building permit application or application for construction plan approval by the Commissioner of Public Safety pursuant to 20 V.S.A. chapter 173 has been submitted on or after January 1, 2007 shall be designed and constructed in substantial compliance with the standards contained in the 2005 Vermont Guidelines for Energy Efficient Commercial Construction, as those standards may be amended by administrative rule adopted by the Commissioner of Public Service.

(c) Revision and interpretation of energy standards. On or before January 1, 2011, the Commissioner shall complete rulemaking to amend the commercial building energy standards to ensure that commercial building construction must be designed and constructed in a manner that complies with ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA standard 90.1-2007 or the 2009 edition of the IECC, whichever provides the greatest level of energy savings. The Commissioner of Public Service shall amend and update the CBES by means of administrative rules adopted in accordance with 3 V.S.A. chapter 25. The Commissioner may direct the timely and appropriate revision of the CBES after the issuance of updated standards for commercial construction under the IECC or ASHRAE/ANSI/IESNA standard 90.1, whichever provides the greatest level of energy savings. Prior to final adoption of each required revision of the CBES, the Department of Public Service shall convene an Advisory Committee to include one or more mortgage lenders; builders; building designers; architects; civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers; utility representatives; and other persons with experience and expertise, such as consumer advocates and energy conservation experts. The Advisory Committee may provide the Commissioner of Public Service with additional recommendations for revision of the CBES.

(1) Any amendments to the CBES shall be:

(A) consistent with duly adopted State energy policy, as specified in 30 V.S.A. § 202a; and

(B) evaluated relative to their technical applicability and reliability.

(2) Each time the CBES are amended by the Commissioner of Public Service, the amended CBES shall become effective upon a date specified in the adopted rule, a date that shall not be less than three months after the date of adoption. Persons submitting an application for any local permit authorizing commercial construction, or an application for construction plan approval by the Commissioner of Public Safety pursuant to 20 V.S.A. chapter 173, before the effective date of the amended CBES shall have the option of complying with the applicable provisions of the earlier or the amended CBES. After the effective date of the original or the amended CBES, any person submitting such an application for commercial construction in an area subject to the CBES shall comply with the most recent version of the CBES.

(3) The Advisory Committee convened under this subsection, in preparing for the CBES updates, shall advise the Department of Public Service with respect to the coordination of the CBES amendments with existing and proposed demand-side management programs offered in the State.

(4) The Commissioner of Public Service is authorized to adopt rules interpreting and implementing the CBES.

(5) The Commissioner of Public Service may grant written variances or exemptions from the CBES or rules adopted under this section where strict compliance would entail practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship, or is otherwise found unwarranted, provided that:

(A) Any such variance or exemption shall be consistent with State energy policy, as specified in section 202a of this title.

(B) Any petitioner for such a variance or exemption can demonstrate that the methods, means, or practices proposed to be taken in lieu of compliance with the rule or rules provide, in the opinion of the Commissioner, equal energy efficiency to that attained by compliance with the rule or rules.

(C) A copy of any such variance or exemption shall be recorded by the petitioner in the land records of the city or town in which the building is located.

(D) A record of each variance or exemption shall be maintained by the Commissioner, together with the certifications received by the Commissioner.

(d) Certification requirement.

(1) The design of commercial buildings shall be certified by the primary designer as compliant with CBES in accordance with this subsection, except as compliance is excused by a variance or exemption issued under subdivision (c)(5) of this section. If applicable law requires that the primary designer be a licensed professional engineer, licensed architect, or other licensed professional, a member of a pertinent licensed profession shall issue this certification. If one or more licensed professional engineers or licensed architects is involved in the design of the project, one of these licensees shall issue this certificate. If a licensed professional engineer or a licensed architect is not involved in designing the project, certification shall be issued by the builder. Any certification shall be accompanied by an affidavit and shall certify that the designer acted in accordance with the designer's professional duty of care in designing the building, and that the commercial building was designed in substantial compliance with the requirements of the CBES. The Department of Public Service will develop and make available to the public a certificate that lists key requirements of the CBES, sets forth certifying language in accordance with this subdivision, and requires disclosure of persons relied upon by the primary designer who have contracted to indemnify the primary designer for damages arising out of that reliance. Any person certifying under this subdivision shall use this certificate or one substantially like it to satisfy these certification obligations. Certification shall be issued by completing and signing a certificate and permanently affixing it to the outside of the heating or cooling equipment, to the electrical service panel located inside the building, or in a visible location in the vicinity of one of these three areas. In certifying under this subsection, the certifying person may reasonably rely on one or more supporting affidavits received from other persons that contributed to the design affirming that the portions of the design produced by them were properly certifiable under this subsection. The certifying person may contract for indemnification from those on which the person relies pursuant to this subdivision (1) against damages arising out of that reliance. This indemnification shall not limit any rights of action of an aggrieved party.

(2) The construction of a commercial building shall be certified as compliant with CBES in accordance with this subsection, except as compliance is excused by a variance or exemption issued under subdivision (c)(5) of this section. This certification shall be issued by the general contractor, construction manager, or other party having primary responsibility for coordinating the construction of the subject building, or in the absence of such a person, by the owner of the building. Any certification shall be accompanied by an affidavit and shall certify that the subject commercial building was constructed in accordance with the ordinary standard of care applicable to the participating construction trades, and that the subject commercial building was constructed substantially in accordance with the construction documents including the plans and specifications certified under subdivision (1) of this subsection for that building. The Department of Public Service will develop and make available to the public a certificate that sets forth certifying language in accordance with this subdivision, and that requires disclosure of persons who have been relied upon by the person with primary responsibility for coordinating the construction of the building and who have contracted to indemnify that person for damages arising out of that reliance. The person certifying under this subdivision shall use that certificate or one substantially like it to satisfy these certification obligations. Certification shall be issued by completing and signing a certificate and permanently affixing it to the outside of the heating or cooling equipment, to the electrical service panel located inside the building, or in a visible location in the vicinity of one of these three areas. In certifying under this subdivision, the certifying person may reasonably rely on one or more supporting affidavits received from subcontractors or others engaged in the construction of the subject commercial building affirming that the portions of the building constructed by them were properly certifiable under this subdivision (2). The certifying person may contract for indemnification from those on which the person relies pursuant to this subdivision (2) against damages arising out of that reliance. This indemnification shall not limit any rights of action of an aggrieved party.

(3) Any person certifying under this subsection shall provide a copy of the person's certificate and any accompanying affidavit to the Department of Public Service.

(4) Provision of a certificate as required by subdivision (1) of this subsection and of a certificate as required by subdivision (2) of this subsection shall be conditions precedent to:

(A) issuance by the Commissioner of Public Safety (or a municipal official acting under 20 V.S.A. § 2736) of any final occupancy permit required by the rules of the Commissioner of Public Safety for use or occupancy of a commercial building that is also a public building as defined in 20 V.S.A. § 2730(a); and

(B) issuance by a municipality of a certificate of occupancy for commercial construction commencing on or after July 1, 2013, if the municipality requires such a certificate under 24 V.S.A. chapter 117.

(e) Private right of action for damages against a certifier.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a person aggrieved by another person's breach of that other person's representations contained in a certification or supporting affidavit issued or received as provided under subsection (d) of this section, within 10 years after the earlier of completion of construction or occupancy of the affected commercial building or portion of that building, may bring a civil action in Superior Court against a person who has an obligation of certifying compliance under subsection (d) of this section alleging breach of the representations contained in that person's certification. The person may seek injunctive relief, damages arising from the aggrieved party's reliance on the accuracy of those representations, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees in an amount to be determined by the court. As used in this subdivision, “damages” includes costs incidental to increased energy consumption.

(2) A person's failure to affix the certification as required by this section shall not be an affirmative defense in such an action against the person.

(3) The rights and remedies created by this section shall not be construed to limit any rights and remedies otherwise provided by law.

(4) The right of action established in this subsection may not be waived by contract or other agreement.

(5) It shall be a defense to an action under this subsection that either at the time of completion or at any time thereafter, the commercial building or portion of building covered by a certificate under subsection (d) of this section, as actually constructed, met or exceeded the overall performance standards established in the CBES in effect on the date construction was commenced.

(f) State or local enforcement. Any person who knowingly makes a false certification under subsection (d) of this section, or any party who fails to certify under subsection (d) of this section when required to do so, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $250.00 per day, up to $10,000.00 for each year the violation continues.

(g) Title validity not affected. A defect in marketable title shall not be created by a failure to record a variance or exemption pursuant to subdivision (c)(5) of this section, by a failure to issue certification or a certificate, as required under subsection (d) of this section, or by a failure under that subsection to affix a certificate or provide a copy of a certificate to the Department of Public Service.
30 V.S.A. § 109 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 3 / Section 109
§ 109. Sales and leases; hearings
Status: in_force

(a) Except in connection with replacement or exchange, a corporation or a foreign corporation subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission shall not make a sale or lease or series of sales or leases in any one calendar year constituting 10 percent or more of the company's property located within this State and actually used in or required for public service operations nor merge nor consolidate pursuant to the provisions of sections 301-307 of this title, nor after any such sale, lease, consolidation, or merger shall any subsequent like action be taken, except after opportunity for hearing by the Public Utility Commission and a finding by the Commission that the same will promote the general good of the State. Such notice of the hearing shall be given as the Commission directs. A certificate of consent of the Public Utility Commission shall be filed with the Secretary of State.

(b) No company owning or operating an electric generating plant in this State with a capacity of 80 megawatts or greater may sell or lease any real property or transmission facilities located at that plant that are required or may be required to generate electricity, interconnect generation facilities with electric transmission facilities, or transmit electricity from the plant, without first obtaining a certificate of consent from the Public Utility Commission.

(c) No company owning or operating an electric transmission facility located in this State that is capable of operating at 100 kilovolts or greater may sell or lease any real property or equipment that is required or may be required to transmit electricity using that facility without first obtaining a certificate of consent from the Public Utility Commission.

(d) To obtain a certificate of consent pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this section, the company shall notify the Commission and Department in writing of its intention to enter into such a sale or lease at least 45 days before the effective date of the proposed transaction. Within 30 days of receiving this notice, the Department shall file a written recommendation with the Commission as to whether it should consent to the proposed sale or lease, and whether further inquiry or hearing is warranted. Within 15 days of receiving the Department's recommendation, and after considering the company's notice and the Department's recommendation, the Commission shall determine whether further inquiry into the proposed sale or lease is warranted and, if so, shall so proceed. If the Department recommends approval of the proposed transaction without further inquiry or opportunity for hearing, and if the Commission takes no further action within 15 days after the Department has filed such a recommendation, then the proposed transaction shall be deemed approved as consistent with the general good of the State.

(e) The Public Utility Commission shall issue a certificate of consent under this section only if it determines that the proposed transaction shall promote the general good of the State.

(f) Any notice provided by a company pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall be accompanied by a statement containing the material terms of the proposed transaction and such further explanation of the proposed transaction as the Commission may prescribe. The Commission may adopt such rules as it deems appropriate for determining the necessity for and scope of any inquiry or hearing concerning a request for Commission consent to a sale or lease under subsection (b) or (c) of this section. In developing these rules, the Commission shall ensure that due consideration is given to issues such as potential ratepayer impacts of the transactions to be reviewed and least-cost integrated planning principles as defined in subdivision 218c(a)(1) of this title. The Commission's rulemaking authority under this section shall include the discretion to:

(1) decrease to no less than 50 megawatts the threshold for review under subsection (b) of this section;

(2) establish a minimum value threshold to trigger review under subsection (b) or (c) of this section; and

(3) adopt or amend other rules appropriately to minimize duplicative regulatory review under this title.
30 V.S.A. § 2908 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 79 / Section 2908
§ 2908. Agreement on price not binding unless ratified
Status: in_force

The mayor and council of a city, the selectboard of a town, or the trustees of a village may negotiate and agree with the utility upon the price to be paid for the plant and property. However, any agreement shall not be binding upon any municipality until ratified by three-fifths of the voters present and voting by Australian ballot at a duly warned annual or special meeting that is preceded by at least 20 days by a public hearing on ratification of the agreement. Notice of the public hearing shall be given in the same manner as it is given for the annual meeting. A ratifying vote shall be had within six months from the date of the filing of the reply provided in section 2907 of this title.
30 V.S.A. § 14 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 14
§ 14. Powers of Supreme Court
Status: in_force

The Supreme Court may reverse or affirm the judgments, orders, or decrees of the Commission and may remand a cause to it with such mandates, as law or equity shall require; and the Commission shall enter judgment, order, or decree in accordance with such mandates. The transfer of the cause to the Supreme Court shall not vacate any judgment, order, or decree of the Commission, but the Supreme Court or, when not in session, a Justice thereof upon notice to interested parties, may suspend execution of the same as justice and equity require, unless otherwise specifically provided by law; provided, however, that the execution of rate orders shall not be suspended at the request of a utility unless the utility files with the Commission a bond running to the members of the Commission and their successors in office in an amount and with sureties approved by the Court or a Justice thereof conditioned that within 30 days after the termination of the proceedings the company shall repay to the persons from whom collected and after the effective date of the Commission's final order all sums in excess of the rates finally determined to be just and reasonable.
30 V.S.A. § 2916 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 79 / Section 2916
§ 2916. Appointment
Status: in_force

The commissioners may be appointed by the mayor and board of aldermen or city council or by the selectboard of the town or by the trustees of the village, if the municipality fails to elect or shall vote to authorize the mayor and board of aldermen or city council or selectboard or trustees to appoint. If a vacancy occurs, it may be filled by the legislative branch.
30 V.S.A. § 406 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 406
§ 406. Penalty
Status: in_force

A person, firm, or corporation who violates a provision of sections 404 and 405 of this title shall be subject to penalties in the same manner as a violation of 10 V.S.A. chapter 43.
30 V.S.A. § 117 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 3 / Section 117
§ 117. Rights acquired and not used
Status: in_force

Where property, easements, or other rights are condemned under this chapter in order that the corporation may render adequate service to the public in the conduct of its business, and such property, easements, or rights are not so applied and used, they shall be subject to condemnation under this chapter for a public use by another public service corporation, other than a railroad.
30 V.S.A. § 206 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 206
§ 206. Information to be furnished to Department
Status: in_force

On request by the Department of Public Service, a company owning or operating a plant, line, or property subject to supervision under this chapter shall furnish to the Department information required by it concerning the condition, operation, management, expense of maintenance and operation, cost of production, rates charged for service or for product, contracts, obligations, and the financial standing of such company. It shall also inform the Department of the salaries of; the pensions, option, or benefit programs affecting; and the expenses reimbursed to its officers or directors, or both.
30 V.S.A. § 2602 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 73 / Section 2602
§ 2602. Charges restricted to tariff rate; excess recoverable
Status: in_force

A telegraph or express company shall be restricted in its charges to the tariff of rates filed as provided by law. When a greater sum than its established rates is paid, the person paying the same may recover the amount so paid above such rates, with 12 percent interest thereon from the time of payment, with full costs, in an action on this statute.
30 V.S.A. § 2516 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 71 / Section 2516
§ 2516. Expenses; repairs
Status: in_force

The Transportation Board or selectboard shall ascertain, as near as may be, the original cost of erecting such line of poles, and shall direct such person or corporation as they may require to use such poles, to pay the owners of the line already erected a fair proportion of such expense, not to exceed one-half the estimated original cost of construction. In no case shall the poles be used until the owners of the new line tender to the original owners of such line of poles the amount so directed. When it is necessary to repair or renew the poles used by two or more persons or corporations, the expense thereof shall be borne equally by the parties using the same.
30 V.S.A. § 7513a — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 88 / Section 7513a
§ 7513a. Vermont 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline [Effective July 1, 2025]
Status: in_force

The fiscal agent shall make distributions to the Commissioner of Mental Health to fund the operational and capital costs of the Vermont 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline centers, within annual limits approved in advance by the General Assembly.
30 V.S.A. § 7004 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 86 / Section 7004
§ 7004. Notice of excavation activities
Status: in_force

(a) No person or company shall engage in excavation activities, except in an emergency situation as defined by the Commission, without premarking the proposed area of excavation activities and giving notice as required by this section.

(b) Prior to notifying the System, the person shall premark the area of proposed excavation activities in a manner that will enable operators of underground facilities to identify the boundaries of the proposed excavation activities.

(c) At least 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, but not more than 30 days before commencing excavation activities, each person required to give notice of excavation activities shall notify the System referred to in section 7002 of this title. Such notice shall set forth a reasonably accurate and readily identifiable description of the geographical location of the proposed excavation activities and the premarks.

(d) Notice to the System may be in writing or by telephone. For purposes of this section, the System shall provide a toll-free telephone number.

(e) Notice of excavation activities shall be valid for an excavation site until one of the following occurs:

(1) the excavation is not completed within 30 days following the notification;

(2) the markings become faded, illegible, or destroyed; or

(3) the company installs new underground facilities in a marked area still under excavation.
30 V.S.A. § 55 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Section 55
§ 55. Priority housing projects; stretch code
Status: in_force

A priority housing project as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6001 shall meet or exceed the stretch codes established under this subchapter by the Department of Public Service.
30 V.S.A. § 3016 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 81 / Section 3016
§ 3016. Districts
Status: in_force

The bylaws may provide for the division of the territory served or to be served by a cooperative into two or more districts for any purpose, without limitation, the nomination and election of trustees and the election and functioning of district delegates. In such case the bylaws shall prescribe the boundaries of the districts, the manner of establishing and changing such boundaries, and the manner in which such districts shall function.
30 V.S.A. § 201 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 201
§ 201. Definitions
Status: reserved

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Company” or “companies” means and includes individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, and municipalities owning or conducting any public service business or property used in connection therewith and covered by the provisions of this chapter. The term “company” or “companies” also includes electric cooperatives organized and operating under chapter 81 of this title, the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority to the extent not inconsistent with chapter 84 of this title, and the Vermont Hydroelectric Power Authority to the extent not inconsistent with chapter 90 of this title. In the context of actions requiring prior approval under section 107 of this title, the term “company” shall also mean any individual, partnership, association, corporation, group, syndicate, operating division, joint stock company, trust, other entity, or municipality that would be defined as a company pursuant to this section if such approval were to be granted.

(2) “Electric vehicle supply equipment” means a device or system designed and used specifically to transfer electrical energy to a plug-in electric vehicle as defined in 23 V.S.A. § 4(85), either as charge transferred via a physical or wireless connection, by loading a fully charged battery, or by other means. “Electric vehicle supply equipment available to the public” shall:

(A) be located at a publicly available parking space, which does not include a parking space that is part of or associated with a private residence or a parking space that is reserved for the exclusive use of an individual driver, vehicle, or group of drivers or vehicles including employees, tenants, visitors, residents of a common interest development, residents of an adjacent building, or customers of a business whose primary business is not electric vehicle charging;

(B) disclose all charges for the use of the electric vehicle supply equipment at the point of sale; and

(C) provide multiple payment options that allow access by the public, if a fee is required, and shall not require persons desiring to use such public electric vehicle supply equipment to pay a subscription fee or otherwise obtain a membership in any club, association, or organization as a condition of using such electric vehicle supply equipment, but may have different price schedules that are conditioned on a subscription or membership in a club, association, or organization.

(3) “Energy” means not only the traditional scientific characteristic of “ability to do work” but also the substances or processes used to produce heat, light, or motion, including petroleum or other liquid fuels, natural or synthetic fuel gas, solid carbonaceous fuels, solar radiation, geothermal sources, nuclear sources, biomass, organic waste products, wind, or flowing water.

(4) “Energy storage facility” means a stationary device or system that captures energy produced at one time, stores that energy for a period of time, and delivers or may deliver that energy as electricity to the grid for use at a future time.

(5) “Energy storage aggregation” means a virtual resource formed by combining multiple stationary energy storage devices at different points of interconnection on the distribution system.

(6) “Energy storage aggregator” means an entity other than a distribution utility that is operating an energy storage aggregation of 100 kW or greater aggregate nameplate capacity.

(7) “Thermal energy exchange” means piped noncombustible fluids used for transferring heat into and out of buildings for the purpose of avoiding, eliminating, reducing any existing or new on-site greenhouse gas emissions of all types of heating and cooling processes, including comfort heating and cooling, domestic hot water, and refrigeration.

(8) “Thermal energy exchange network” means all real estate, fixtures, and personal property operated, owned, used, or to be used for or in connection with or to facilitate distribution infrastructure project that supplies thermal energy to more than one household, dwelling unit, or network of buildings that are not commonly owned. This definition does not include a mutual benefit enterprise, cooperative or common interest community that is owned by the persons it serves and that provides thermal energy exchange services only to its members, a landlord providing thermal energy exchange services only to its tenants where the service is included in the lease agreement, or any entity that provides thermal energy exchange services only to itself.
30 V.S.A. § 2919 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 79 / Section 2919
§ 2919. Appropriations
Status: in_force

Any municipality having a municipal plant may appropriate money for the maintenance and operation of such plant, specifying that the same shall be taken from the receipts of the department. Where such appropriations are made, the treasurer of the municipality, in advance of the collection of such receipts, may pay bills on account of such appropriations, and any sum so advanced shall be repaid to the municipality from such receipts, when collected, and shall be applied as reimbursement to the municipality or to the payment of any temporary loan made by the municipality in anticipation of revenue of that year.
30 V.S.A. § 29 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 29
§ 29. Right of inspection
Status: in_force

The Public Utility Commission or the Commissioner of Public Service, the Directors for Public Advocacy and Regulated Utility Planning, and other employees of the Department authorized by the Commissioner may, during business hours, enter the offices, plants, exchanges, and stations or upon the land or lines of any company subject to supervision by the Department.
30 V.S.A. § 2701 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 75 / Section 2701
§ 2701. Transfer of messages and interchange of service
Status: in_force

Whenever the Commission, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, finds that a physical connection can reasonably be made between the lines of two or more telephone companies or two or more telegraph companies whose lines can be made to form a continuous line of communication, by the construction and maintenance of suitable connections, for the transfer of messages or conversations, and that public convenience and necessity will be subserved thereby, or finds that two or more telegraph or telephone companies have failed to establish joint rates, tolls, or charges for service by or over their lines, and that joint rates, tolls, or charges ought to be established, the Commission may, by its order, (a) require that the connection be made, except where the purpose of the connection is primarily to secure the transmission of local messages or conversations between points within the same city or town, and that conversations be transmitted and messages transferred over the connection under the rules as the Commission may establish, and (b) may prescribe through lines and joint rates, tolls, and charges to be made and to be used, observed, and enforced in the future. If the telephone or telegraph companies do not agree upon the division of the joint rates, tolls, or charges established by the Commission over the through lines, the Commission may, after further hearing, establish the division by supplemental order.
30 V.S.A. § 7002 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 86 / Section 7002
§ 7002. Public Utility Underground Facility Damage Prevention System
Status: in_force

Each company shall be a member of and participate in the Public Utility Underground Facility Damage Prevention System as designated by the Commission unless granted an exemption by the Commission after opportunity for hearing. The System shall operate during regular business hours throughout the year, except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The System shall receive notices of proposed excavation activities and transmit the notices to member companies whose facilities may be affected. The cost for operation of the System shall be apportioned equitably among member companies.
30 V.S.A. § 2925 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 79 / Section 2925
§ 2925. Conservation and load management
Status: in_force

(a) Municipal electric utilities may expend their funds, including the proceeds of their notes, bonds, or other obligations, for the purposes of modifying demand for electric capacity or energy through conservation or load management by participation in such facilities, projects, and programs as the legislative body or other governing body of the municipal electric utility determines will effectively accomplish such purposes. Such facilities, projects, and programs may include providing or financing facilities or programs for conservation or load management, which may be (i) owned or operated by the municipal electric utility or by others, (ii) leased or licensed by the municipal electric utility to others, or financed by loans by the municipal electric utility to others, in either case on such terms and conditions as the legislative body or other governing body of the municipal electric utility may determine.

(b) A municipal electric utility may issue its notes, bonds, or other obligations pursuant to any statutory authority conferring such power for carrying out the purposes of this section.
30 V.S.A. § 3080 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 82 / Section 3080
§ 3080. Special meetings
Status: in_force

(a) The board may call a special meeting of the district when it deems it necessary or prudent to do so and shall call a special meeting of the district when action by the voters is necessary under this chapter. In addition, the board shall call a special meeting upon receipt of a petition signed by at least five percent of the registered voters within the district, or upon request of at least 25 percent of district members evidenced by formal resolutions of the legislative bodies of such members or by petitions signed by at least five percent of the member's registered voters. The board may rescind the call of a special meeting called by it but not a special meeting called as provided in this subsection. The board may schedule the date of such special meetings to coincide with the date of annual municipal meetings, primary elections, general elections, or similar meetings when the electorate within the district members will be voting on other matters.

(b) At any special meeting of the district, voters of each district member shall cast their ballots at such polling places within the municipality of their residence as shall be determined by the board of the district in cooperation with the boards of civil authority of each district member.

(c) Not less than three nor more than 14 days prior to any special meeting, at least one public hearing shall be held by the board at which time the issues under consideration shall be presented and comments received. Notice of such public hearing shall include the publication of a warning in a newspaper of general circulation in the district at least once a week, on the same day of the week, for three consecutive weeks, the last publication not less than five nor more than 10 days before the public hearing. Such notice may be included in the warning called for in subsection (d) of this section.

(d) The board shall warn a special meeting by filing a notice with the clerk of each district member and by posting a notice in at least five public places in each municipality in the district not less than 30 nor more than 40 days before the meeting. In addition, the warning shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the district once a week on the same day of the week for three consecutive weeks before the meeting, the last publication to be not less than five nor more than 10 days before the meeting.

(e) The original warning of any special meeting of the district shall be signed by a majority of the board and shall be filed with the clerk before being posted.

(f) The posted and published warning notification shall include the date, time, place, and nature of the meeting. It shall, by separate articles, specifically indicate the business to be transacted and the questions to be voted upon.

(g) The Australian ballot system shall be used at all special meetings of the district when voting is to take place. Ballots shall be commingled and counted under the supervision of the district clerk.

(h) All legal voters of the district members shall be legal voters of the district. The district members shall post and revise checklists in the same manner as for municipal meetings prior to any district meeting at which there will be voting.

(i) At all special meetings, the provisions of 17 V.S.A. chapter 51 regarding election officials, voting machines, polling places, absentee voting, process of voting, count and return of votes, validation, recounts and contest of elections, reconsideration or rescission of vote, and jurisdiction of courts shall apply except where clearly inapplicable. The clerk shall perform the functions assigned to the Secretary of State under that chapter. The Washington Superior Court shall have jurisdiction over petitions for recounts. Election expenses shall be borne by the district, unless within 30 days following the date of such resolution there is filed with the clerk of the district a request to call a special district meeting under this section to consider a proposition to rescind such resolution.
30 V.S.A. § 2511 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 71 / Section 2511
§ 2511. Damages; appraisal; payment
Status: in_force

When, in the erection of a line of wires, the owner or occupant of lands or tenements sustains or is likely to sustain damages thereby, the Transportation Board or the selectboard of the town, upon notice to parties interested, shall appraise such damages. The same shall be paid before the line is erected, unless petition is made to the Superior Court on the question of damages as provided in section 2512 of this title.
30 V.S.A. § 202d — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 202d
§ 202d. Telecommunications Plan
Status: repealed

(a) The Department of Public Service shall constitute the responsible planning agency of the State for the purpose of obtaining for all consumers in the State stable and predictable rates and a technologically advanced telecommunications network serving all service areas in the State. The Department shall be responsible for the provision of plans for meeting emerging trends related to telecommunications technology, markets, financing, and competition.

(b) The Department shall prepare the Telecommunications Plan for the State. The Agency of Digital Services, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, and the Agency of Transportation shall assist the Department in preparing the Plan. The Plan shall be for a 10-year period and shall serve as a basis for State telecommunications policy. Prior to preparing the Plan, the Department shall prepare:

(1) An overview, looking 10 years ahead, of statewide growth and development as they relate to future requirements for telecommunications services, including patterns of urban expansion, statewide and service area economic growth, shifts in transportation modes, economic development, technological advances, and other trends and factors that will significantly affect State telecommunications policy and programs. The overview shall include an economic and demographic forecast sufficient to determine infrastructure investment goals and objectives.

(2) One or more surveys of Vermont residents and businesses, conducted in cooperation with the Agency of Commerce and Community Development to determine what telecommunications services are needed now and in the succeeding 10 years, generally, and with respect to the following specific sectors in Vermont:

(A) the educational sector, with input from the Secretary of Education;

(B) the health care and human services sectors, with input from the Commissioner of Health and the Secretary of Human Services;

(C) the public safety sector, with input from the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Executive Director of the Enhanced 911 Board; and

(D) the workforce training and development sectors, with input from the Commissioner of Labor.

(3) An assessment of the current state of telecommunications infrastructure.

(4) An assessment, conducted in cooperation with the Agency of Digital Services and the Agency of Transportation, of State-owned and managed telecommunications systems and related infrastructure and an evaluation, with specific goals and objectives, of alternative proposals for upgrading the systems to provide the best available and affordable technology for use by State and local government, public safety, educational institutions, community media, nonprofit organizations performing governmental functions, and other community anchor institutions.

(5) A geographically specific assessment of the status, coverage, and capacity of telecommunications networks and services available throughout Vermont, a comparison of available services relative to other states, including price and broadband speed comparisons for key services, and comparisons of the status of technology deployment.

(6) An assessment of opportunities for shared infrastructure, open access, and neutral host wireless facilities that is sufficiently specific to guide the Public Utility Commission, the Department, State and local governments, and telecommunications service companies in the deployment of new technology.

(7) [Repealed.]

(8) With respect to emergency communications, an analysis of all federal initiatives and requirements, including the Department of Commerce FirstNet initiative and the Department of Homeland Security Statewide Communication Interoperability Plan, and how these activities can best be integrated with strategies to advance the State's interest in achieving ubiquitous deployment of mobile telecommunications and broadband services within Vermont.

(9) An analysis of alternative strategies to leverage the State's ownership and management of the public rights-of-way to create opportunities for accelerating the buildout of fiber-optic broadband and for increasing network resiliency capacity.

(c) In developing the Plan, the Department shall address each of the State telecommunications policies and goals of section 202c of this title and shall assess initiatives designed to advance and make measurable progress with respect to each of those policies and goals. The assessment shall include identification of the resources required and potential sources of funding for Plan implementation.

(d) The Department shall establish a participatory planning process that includes effective provisions for increased public participation. In establishing plans, public hearings shall be held and the Department shall consult with members of the public; representatives of telecommunications utilities with a certificate of public good; other providers, including the Vermont Electric Power Co., Inc. (VELCO) and communications union districts; and other interested State agencies, particularly the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, the Agency of Transportation, and the Agency of Digital Services, whose views shall be considered in preparation of the Plan. To the extent necessary, the Department shall include in the Plan surveys to determine existing, needed, and desirable plant improvements and extensions, access and coordination between telecommunications providers, methods of operations, and any change that will produce better service or reduce costs. To this end, the Department may require the submission of data by each company subject to supervision by the Public Utility Commission.

(e) Before adopting the Plan, the Department shall first prepare and publish a preliminary draft and solicit public comment. The Department's procedures for soliciting public comment shall include a method for submitting comments electronically. After review and consideration of the comments received, the Department shall prepare a final draft. This final draft shall either incorporate public comments received with respect to the preliminary draft or shall include a detailed explanation as to why specific individual comments were not incorporated. The Department shall conduct at least four public hearings across the State on the final draft and shall consider the testimony presented at such hearings when preparing the Plan. The Department shall coordinate with Vermont's access media organizations when planning the public hearings required by this subsection. At least one public hearing shall be held jointly with committees of the General Assembly designated by the General Assembly for this purpose.

(f) The Department shall adopt a new Plan every three years pursuant to the procedures established in subsection (e) of this section. The Plan shall outline significant deviations from the prior Plan. For good cause or upon request by a joint resolution passed by the General Assembly, an interim review and revision of any section of the Plan may be made after conducting public hearings on the interim revision. At least one hearing shall be held jointly with committees of the General Assembly designated by the General Assembly for this purpose.
30 V.S.A. § 3003 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 81 / Section 3003
§ 3003. Name
Status: in_force

The name of a cooperative governed by this chapter shall include the words “utility” or “energy” or a word designating any specific form of energy such as “electric,” “propane,” or “natural gas” and “cooperative” and the abbreviation “inc.” unless, in an affidavit made by its president or vice president and filed with the Secretary of State, or in an affidavit made by a person signing articles of incorporation, consolidation, merger, or conversion, which relate to the cooperative and filed, together with the articles, with the Secretary of State, it shall appear that the cooperative desires to do business in another state and is or would be precluded by reason of the inclusion of the words in its name. The name of a cooperative shall be distinct from the name of any other cooperative or corporation organized under the laws of, or authorized to do business in, this State.
30 V.S.A. § 2815 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 77 / Section 2815
§ 2815. Inaccurate meters
Status: in_force

Such company shall not keep in service a gas or electric service meter that registers upon no load or that has an error in measurement in excess of four percent.
30 V.S.A. § 2812 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 77 / Section 2812
§ 2812. Meter tests on customer's demand
Status: in_force

Upon demand of any of its customers, a public service company that sells gas or electricity shall test without charge the meters used to measure the gas or electricity sold to such customer, provided that the customer does not request such test more frequently than once in 12 months.
30 V.S.A. § 7003 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 86 / Section 7003
§ 7003. Rulemaking
Status: in_force

The Commission shall adopt rules, pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 relative to:

(1) minimum requirements for the operation of the System, including notification procedures and the reporting of underground utility facility locations;

(2) procedures for the investigation of complaints;

(3) emergency situations;

(4) uniform standards for the marking of the approximate location of underground utility facilities;

(5) uniform standards for the future installation of underground utility facilities, including the following:

(A) color coding of facilities;

(B) depth requirements for the laying of facilities;

(C) subsurface marking of facilities;

(D) surface marking of facilities;

(E) the filing of as-built plans of facilities with municipalities; and

(F) capability for location of facilities by sensors;

(6) standards for the granting of exemptions under section 7002 of this title; and

(7) situations where the premarks cannot be found.
30 V.S.A. § 2504 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 71 / Section 2504
§ 2504. Transportation Board or selectboard may direct and change manner of crossing highway
Status: in_force

The Transportation Board or the selectboard of a town may direct a line of wires to be placed at a greater height or underground where it crosses a street or highway. If a line of wires is erected or maintained upon, under, or across a street or highway, contrary to the direction of the Transportation Board or the selectboard, or is not changed when directed by them, they may remove such line, and recover the expense thereof from the person or corporation using the same in an action on this statute.
30 V.S.A. § 61 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Section 61
§ 61. Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this subchapter:

(1) “Benchmarking” means measuring the energy performance of a single building or portfolio of buildings over time in comparison to other similar buildings or to modeled simulations of a reference building built to a specific standard such as an energy code.

(2) “Commercial Working Group” means the Commercial and Multiunit Building Energy Labeling Working Group established by subsection 62(b) of this title.

(3) “Commission” means the Public Utility Commission.

(4) “Department” means the Department of Public Service.

(5) “Distribution company” means a company under the jurisdiction of the Commission that distributes electricity or natural gas for consumption by end users.

(6) “Energy efficiency utility” means an energy efficiency entity appointed under subdivision 209(d)(2) of this title.

(7) “Energy label” means the visual presentation in a consistent format of an energy rating for a building and any other supporting and comparative information. The label may be provided as a paper certificate or made available online, or both.

(8) “Energy rating” means a simplified mechanism to convey a building's energy performance. The rating may be based on the operation of the building or modeled based on the building's assets.

(9) “Home energy assessor” means an individual who assigns buildings a home energy performance score using a scoring system based on the energy rating.

(10) “Multiunit building” means a building that contains more than one independent dwelling unit or separate space for independent commercial use, or both.

(11) “Residential Working Group” means the Residential Building Energy Labeling Working Group established by subsection 62(a) of this title.

(12) “Unit holder” means the tenant or owner of an independent dwelling unit or separate space for independent commercial use within a multiunit building.
30 V.S.A. § 506 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 13 / Section 506
§ 506. Renewal
Status: in_force

Certificates with a limited duration may be renewed during or at the end of the period, after opportunity for hearing held according to the criteria for the granting of an original certificate in section 504 of this title and after the Commission has made the finding required by that section. As part of the renewal proceedings, the Commission shall hold a public hearing. The public hearing shall either be remotely accessible or held in each county served pursuant to the certificates that are the subject of the renewal proceedings, or both.
30 V.S.A. § 22a — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 22a
§ 22a. Use of gross operating revenues tax
Status: in_force

Expenses incurred by the Department for the support of activities relating to wholesale and retail sales of electricity shall be paid from revenues received by the Department from such sales.
30 V.S.A. § 215 — VT Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 215
§ 215. Natural gas
Status: in_force

The Department of Public Service, or its duly appointed representative, is hereby authorized as an agency of the State to represent the interests of the State before the Federal Power Commission or other body in all matters relating to the transportation and distribution of natural gas into the State of Vermont or the New England states. Upon findings by the natural gas study commission that (a) the procurement of natural gas for the State of Vermont or parts thereof is economically feasible and could substantially promote the interests of Vermont consumers, domestic and industrial, and (b) that such procurement cannot be obtained by agreement between or among gas transmission or distribution companies within and outside the State, within a reasonable time, not to exceed two years, the Department of Public Service shall be also designated as the agent of the State of Vermont with full powers to act for and represent the State in any negotiations, arrangements, or proceedings for the procurement of natural gas from any source within or outside of the State of Vermont with the right, with the approval of the Governor, to contract for the purchase and transmission of such gas and the resale thereof on a nonprofit basis to the gas transmission or distribution companies, cooperative, municipal, and privately owned, without preference or discrimination, for transmission or distribution within the State. With the approval of the Governor, it may enter into contracts for the transmission of natural gas from the place of purchase to a point or points within the State of Vermont.