Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond For Burlington Electric Department

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 8, 2021

Voters in Burlington, Vermont, on Dec. 7 overwhelmingly approved a $20 million Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond for public power utility Burlington Electric Department with 70% of voters supporting the ballot measure.

Largely cost neutral to ratepayers, the Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond will allow Burlington Electric Department to continue and expand green stimulus incentives that have helped Burlington residents switch to electric vehicles (EVs) and cold-climate heat pumps, the utility noted.

The bond also will support grid updates for reliability, technology systems to better serve customers, and new EV charging stations.

“Through this bond, we’ll continue and expand our efforts to support our customers in switching from fossil fuels to clean technologies such as electric vehicles, cold-climate heat pumps, and more,” said Darren Springer, General Manager of Burlington Electric Department, in a statement.

The vote “not only moves us toward a Net Zero Energy future but also offers a compelling financing model for other public power utilities around the nation to consider as we all look to meet our climate commitments,” he said.

Additional information about the bond is available here.