Vermonters spend, on average, 10% of their annual income on energy, with transportation as the single biggest cost, according to a new report.
The report, released by Efficiency Vermont on Tuesday, found that residents of the Northeast Kingdom and other rural areas spend the most on energy relative to income.
Efficiency Vermont looked at the energy burden — the amount of money spent annually on energy as a percentage of area median income — around the state. Lemington had the highest energy burden, with costs eating up 20% of the area median income of $26,094.
The report, which used data from 2017, only looks at direct spending on electricity and fuel. Transportation accounted for 45% of spending, heating accounted for 35%, and electricity comprised the remaining 10%.
The report authors say that areas with the highest energy use, which generally are in more developed areas like Chittenden County, do not have the highest energy burden. And while the state’s three energy efficiency utilities do have low-income programs, they also are required to work with high energy spenders to achieve the greatest energy use reductions. In 2017, Efficiency Vermont worked with 36,018 residents, or 22%, of Chittenden County but only 519, or 8%, of Essex County residents, according to data provided by Efficiency Vermont.
Efficiency Vermont has been adjusting its programs to focus more on lower income Vermonters and landlords, said Kelly Lucci, director of strategic engagement and innovations for Efficiency Vermont. For example, the utility now offers a popular program to offer free efficient electric appliances, like refrigerators, to lower income households.
“I think to really drive at the level of change that’s needed, it’s going to take a more fundamental shift,” in the efficiency utilities’ mission, she said.
The utility is looking to have standalone programs designed for moderate- in addition to low-income residents, and programs working with more businesses in high energy burden communities.
The report was an update to a 2016 energy burden report from the energy efficiency utility. While a change in data analysis makes it difficult to exactly compare findings, there has not been an overall change in regions with high energy burden, said Lucci.
“There are areas of the state where the cost of energy continues to be a challenge, like the Northeast Kingdom,” she said.
The new report also looks at whether residents of high energy burden communities are using clean energy technologies that could lower spending on electricity and fuel.
With the exception of weatherization, the report found that “energy transformation is primarily the purview of those who can afford the upfront cost.”
Four of the towns with the highest rates of weatherized homes also have high energy burden — which observers say is likely linked to the state’s investment in low-income weatherization programs. Two of the top 10 towns for electric vehicles and cold climate heat pump purchases were high energy burden towns, and none of the towns with the most solar installed were high burden towns.
Andrew Perchlik, head of the state’s Clean Energy Development Fund, said that he was not surprised to see more weatherization occurring in high energy burden towns as the state has specific low-income weatherization programs with “millions of federal dollars.”
The Clean Energy Development Fund, which was established in 2005 with annual payments from Vermont Yankee, mostly funded solar projects. The fund had focused primarily on market transformation by increasing the amount of solar panels — not on lowering energy burden, said Perchlik.
“We could get a wealthy person to install (solar panels) for a 10% incentive, but if you want to get a low-income person to do it, you had to do an 80% incentive.”
He added that the fund had started partnering with affordable housing organizations to do solar projects. Money from the fund is now going primarily toward swapping out wood heating systems, which many lower income people heat with, said Perchlik.
“When we think about energy burden, having a local fuel … is more stable because we have more control over the prices,” he said.
The state has an emergency furnace repair program in addition to a low-income heating fuel cost program as the cost of boiler and furnace replacement is prohibitively expensive for many low-income families.
Lucci, of Efficiency Vermont, said there is limited comparable national data on energy spending as most other reports do not take into account transportation costs.
