The Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is a consumer-owned electric distribution cooperative headquartered in

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. In 2019, Vermont Electric Cooperative served about 34,000 members in 74 towns in northern Vermont, including

Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario United States *Addison, Alabama *Addison, Illinois *Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field * Addison, Kentucky *Addison, Maine *Addison, Michigan *Addison, New York ...

, Caledonia, Chittenden,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, and Orleans counties.

History

Vermont Electric Cooperative was founded in 1938 in Eden Mills to serve residents in parts of rural Lamoille County who had been bypassed by investor-owned utilities. The

Rural Electrification Act The Rural Electrification Act of 1936, enacted on May 20, 1936, provided federal loans for the installation of electrical distribution systems to serve isolated rural areas of the United States. The funding was channeled through cooperative ele ...

financed most of the growth in the early years. Early service was extended into Chittenden and Franklin counties. From the 1940s until the early 1960s, the territory it served expanded in northern Vermont through the construction of new lines and the acquisition of small private companies. In 1969, Vermont Electric Cooperative expanded into southern Vermont by merging with Halifax Electric Cooperative. In 1970, Vermont Electric Cooperative acquired the International Electric Company serving Derby Line. In 2004, Vermont Electric Cooperative acquired Citizens Communications Company's Vermont Electric Division. This more than doubled the membership-base. In 2006, Vermont Electric Cooperative sold its Southern District in Windham and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

counties to

Central Vermont Public Service Central Vermont Public Service Corp. (CVPS) was the largest electricity supplier in Vermont. Its customer base covered 160,000 people in 163 towns, villages and cities in Vermont. The company generated revenue mainly though purchased electricity t ...

(CVPS), reducing its membership by 2,770. Additionally 12 member services in 3 towns of MA were sold to Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) In 2008, Vermont Electric Cooperative sought a 9.2% rate increase from the

Vermont Public Service Board The Vermont Public Utility Commission (formerly known as the Vermont Public Service Board) is a government agency of the State of Vermont that supervises the rates, quality of service, and overall financial management of public utilities in Vermon ...

. It estimates that the rise in rates from transmission rates from

ISO New England ISO New England Inc. (ISO-NE) is an independent, non-profit Regional Transmission Organization (RTO), headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts, serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. ISO-NE ov ...

will increase its transmission costs by $1.5 million to $6 million total. About 30% of the increase is due to this increased transmission costs. In 2009, Vermont Electric Cooperative announced that it would purchase 50% of the 40

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

wind-generated electricity when it becomes available. The cooperative installed smart meters at 80% of their households from 2007 to 2009. Savings using these have paid for the equipment upgrades.

Administration

A 12-member Board of Directors is elected by members. Seven seats are reserved for geographic districts. Five members are elected by the entire membership.The Chronicle, June 3, 2009, page 24, "VEC reorganizes its board", Joseph Gresser District 1 includes the towns of Averill, Avery's Gore, Barton, Bloomfield, Brighton, Brownington, Brunswick, Canaan, Charleston, Ferdinand, Guildhall,

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, Lemington, Lewis, Lyndon, Maidstone, Morgan, Newark, Norton, Sheffield, Sutton, Warner's Grant, Warren Gore, Westmore and Wheelock. There are also towns in Caledonia County. District 2 includes

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, and Newport city. The remaining towns in Orleans County are in District 5. District 4 includes

Jay A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

, Lowell, Newport town, Westfield, and

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

. District 8 includes Albany, Barton, Craftsbury, Glover,

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, and towns in Lamoille and Caledonia counties. The president of the Board of Directors is Dan Carswell. In 2013, there were 18 candidates for three open seats on the board.

Programs

Vermont Electric Cooperative not only supplies electricity to members, but also offers a range of programs including bill credits for the purchase of certain electric appliances and devices including electric vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles,

heat pump A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing ...

s, heat pump hot water heaters, pellet stoves, electric forklifts, and Zero Energy Modular homes. In December 2016, Vermont Electric Cooperative launched Co-op Community Solar, a program under which members can sponsor solar panels in community solar arrays. Members pay an upfront payment for a term of either ten or twenty years and get a fixed monthly credit on their electric bill. Over the term, the total value of the bill credits exceeds the value of the upfront payment.

References

{{reflist American companies established in 1938 Energy companies established in 1938 Companies based in Vermont Energy infrastructure in Vermont Electric cooperatives in Vermont Addison County, Vermont Caledonia County, Vermont Chittenden County, Vermont Essex County, Vermont Franklin County, Vermont Lamoille County, Vermont Grand Isle County, Vermont Orleans County, Vermont 1938 establishments in Vermont