By Nancy Remsen


Vermonters would save money on their fuel and electric bills and the state would see a 7-megawatt reduction in electric consumption as a result of tough energy efficiency standards recommended Friday by the House Natural Resources Committee.

Under the committee's bill, only products that would meet the new strict standards could be sold in Vermont after 2008 or later for some product lines. The requirement would apply to residential furnaces, chargers and power adapters for cell phones, laptop computers and other electronics, transformers and two kinds of lighting.

"This is one of the things we can do to become as efficient in our energy use as possible," said Committee Chairman Robert Dostis, D-Waterbury.

"We aren't leading this charge," Dostis added. Vermont would be following the footsteps of states such as California, Massachusetts and New York in setting energy efficiency standards for appliances. "We can't be in the front of this because we are so small."

A year ago, this bill never would have received the broad political support it won from the committee Friday. Nine of the 11 members of the committee voted for the bill -- six Democrats, one Progressive and two Republicans.

Rep. Joseph Krawczyk, R-Bennington, was formerly a staunch opponent of setting energy-efficiency standards for appliances, but this winter he became one of the bill's strongest advocates.

Krawczyk explained his new view. The energy picture changed, he said, and the need to squeeze out energy savings became clear after two hurricanes slammed into critical fuel production facilities on the Gulf Coast. Also, Congress set national standards for nearly a dozen appliances.

During committee deliberations this week, Krawczyk made a case for setting standards. "Meeting compliance standards is nothing new in Vermont," Krawczyk said. He pointed to standards set for pesticides and paints. He also noted, "The items we are talking about all have substitutes available."

Rep. Joyce Errecart, R-Shelburne, argued against adopting state standards. She doubted the standards would yield the projected energy savings -- estimated by a consumer advocacy group at seven megawatts. She also worried about unintended consequences.

Vermonters would have fewer choices because of the bans on products that fell short of the efficiency standards, Errecart predicted.

She noted, too, that IBM objected to the bill because it would give the commissioner of public service the authority to set standards for other products in the future.

"I'm just stunned for someone not to take IBM seriously," she said during the committee's debate. "For us to give this kind of discretion, which is really a legislative decision about what should be allowed and what shouldn't, I find it a stunning abdication of legislative authority."

"I don't see the commissioner coming out and grabbing something willy-nilly," countered Krawczyk. "I think we have the safeguards in here."

Under the bill, the commissioner could only add products if they were readily available, would produce energy savings that would offset any extra cost and were on lists in several other states.

Local and national business groups tried to persuade the committee to abandon the bill.

John Klesch of the Vermont Retail Association settled for persuading the committee to remove a proposed penalty for retailers who sold noncompliant products.

Doug Troutman of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association spoke by phone from his office in Virginia to complain to the committee about the trend of states passing appliance standards. "We oppose the state-by-state approach," he said, "because it would create a patchwork."

Consumer advocates pushed just as hard for the bill, arguing the state needed to do something to curb energy waste.

"There are very real consequences -- high energy prices and potentiality reliability problems in the future -- because we waste so much energy," said James Moore of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

"This standards bill sets a new floor," Moore said. "It takes the least efficient technology off the shelf and speeds up the rate at which consumers will be able to purchase products that will save them money and reduce our energy consumption as a state."

The bill could come before the full House for a vote late next week. Then it would go to the Senate, which previously passed a more comprehensive appliance standards bill.

"It is absolutely one of our priorities," said Sen. Virginia Lyons, D-Chittenden, chairwoman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. "We will welcome the bill."

Efficiency Standards
The House Natural Resources Committee has recommended energy-efficiency standards for five categories of products. Only products that meet the proposed standards could be sold in Vermont.

WHAT'S COVERED: Minimum energy-efficiency standards would be set for residential furnaces and boilers; incandescent reflector lamps; power chargers and adapters for electronic equipment such as cellular phones, power tools and laptop computers; metal halide lamp fixtures frequently found in gymnasiums; and medium voltage dry-type distribution transformers.

WHEN: The ban on transformers and reflector lights that don't meet the proposed standards would begin Jan. 1, 2008. The requirement for power chargers and adapters could also begin in 2008, or later if California revises its rules for this category of product. The ban relating to inefficient halide lamps starts Jan. 1, 2009. The new standard for furnaces won't take effect until the state receives a waiver from a less-stringent federal standard -- probably 2010 or later.

NEW PRODUCTS: Allows the commissioner of public service to consider setting efficiency standards for more products, but only if they are readily available, the savings offsets any increased cost and the stiffer standards for these products have been adopted in at least one other New England state and New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania.

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