The power brokers: Invitation-only group undertakes state energy planning

By Kathryn Casa | Vermont Guardian

posted February 10, 2006

Two dozen energy experts and observers have been meeting quietly since September to forge a long-term plan for the state, but critics say the little-known process excludes citizen and environmental concerns, and once again marginalizes those who live where most of the state’s power is produced.

The Participatory Energy Planning-Mediated Modeling Project is “a series of workshops about electrical energy in Vermont,” according to the project’s website. Participants pool their perspectives, which are then fed into a computer.

Riley Allen, a planner with the Department of Public Service, called it “a fairly significant planning exercise” to “establish some fact-based guidance.”

Its goal is “to synthesize what stakeholders can agree upon about the most important aspects of the current energy issues and spur creativity toward innovative solutions to address the anticipated ‘supply gap’ and energy future of Vermont.”

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