Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Macasumba t1_j3vhyuo wrote

No.

31

Real-Pierre-Delecto2 t1_j3vxsk0 wrote

Why not? Not that I like power company's but when their input cost's go up in this case from NG you will have to pay more. Do you think they are a charity?

−13

randombrosef t1_j3w16ur wrote

Too expensive already.

ROI of additional consumer cost not justified.

I'm not paying for some executive's increased bonus.

21

americanipa802 t1_j3w2cyu wrote

I don’t think any one of these utilities is really the large corporation we may put it out to be. GMP is definitely big, but that is not one of the DUs requesting a rate increase. Below are the utilities. Most are town/city ran or are a coop: Stowe Electric, Burlington Electric, Washington Electric Co-op, Vermont Electric Co-op, and Morrisville Water & Light

7

Real-Pierre-Delecto2 t1_j3w6zov wrote

Just a few thousand customers for most of those. The thought that when they pay significantly more for electricity they should eat the loss is just silly. At least for those of us with GMP they are not trying to raise rates because they smartly do not contract for electricity generated from fossil fuels.

Trying to imagine the fat cat CEO of Morrisville Water & Light out on his yacht right now. Ya no not really.

7

Real-Pierre-Delecto2 t1_j3w75wt wrote

Well the solution then is to go solar and tell your utility to disconnect you. I won't hold my breath.

−2

Jsr1 t1_j3wb6zo wrote

No! Not unless you change minimum wage to a livable wage!

8

gooker10 t1_j3wfj74 wrote

how about they reduce their operating costs as a business/utility that's regulated and stop passing everything to the end user/consumer we can't support every hike/raise and cost they encounter specifically in these cold months possibly leading to recession and lost jobs.

7

Real-Pierre-Delecto2 t1_j3wi1fl wrote

You should take a tour of the facilities of some of these providers. Most are very small operations and enjoy giving tours. There is nothing left to cut that would not impact worker or customer safety. Most are also non profits so just where do you expect them to find the money to subsidize you?

Amazing how much of a general lack there is here in how shit works in the real world. If you owned a gas station and your distributor raises your prices would you keep yours the same and take a loss? Of course not. Think about it.

11

timberwolf0122 t1_j3wvvin wrote

I don’t want rate hikes, no one really does. But they are necessary in many cases because costs aren’t going down plus utilities need to pay for upgrades and repairs

5

IceCoastRep t1_j3zljdc wrote

Morrisville is already planning a 11% hike… it’s so expensive to begin with for water and electric from them….this is just ridiculous. People complain about NYS, but having lived there before… water and electric were damn cheap compared to VT. I guess only the 1% can afford to live here.

3

murshawursha t1_j478hss wrote

I mean... If this quote from the article is true, I feel like asking for a rate hike once every 10 years is actually pretty reasonable:

> Morrisville’s utility, like Stowe, serves more than 4,000 customers and hasn’t raised its rates in over 10 years.

1

StankyBo t1_j3zbn8t wrote

Income-based rate hikes.

2

smokeythemechanic t1_j3yujac wrote

Till the people at the top start bleeding money, like the people at the bottom have to, to survive, no rate hikes. Like for what electricity alone costs per unit from hydro-quebec vs what customers pay, with the infrastructure in place already 50 years, it's more corporate greed like everything else.

1

bobsizzle t1_j45iwso wrote

I've lived in the country, outside of super Small towns, in regions with similar population densities as Vermont and utilities were far less expensive. 12 cent kwh power and water bills around 25 a month. I thought solar would have paid for itself by now. Something stinks in Vermont.

1

HappilyhiketheHump t1_j3vz2su wrote

They should and will get it.

Then…. the state should get its act together and mandate consolidation of all these small co-ops with GMP for a statewide regulated utility.

Redundancy would be removed over a couple of years and then the same cost and benefit can be received by each Vermonter.

−4

-_Stove_- t1_j3w9sy8 wrote

Yeah...So the whole reason we have utility co-ops is because GMP and the "big players" were unwilling to run cable to a lot of the rural areas.

0

MarkVII88 t1_j3xfnie wrote

Isn't that part of the indirect cost of living in a rural area? I mean there's all sorts of consequences to the choices people make.

4

throwaway9384929 t1_j3zorbt wrote

I live 5 minutes outside Montpelier on a paved road right off of rt12 and GMP still won’t service it, not all of us want to live in Burlington

1

HappilyhiketheHump t1_j3wb2rr wrote

Correct. Time to end this flat out inequity in service, price and benefit from a basic public good.
Vermont can do better.

Question is, do our legislators care?

−11