Category Archives: Opinion

The following is a commentary written by Heidi Scheuermann, a Republican House member from Stowe. 

Every year, as the General Assembly works toward final adjournment, legislators know that they must pay very close attention to every bill coming up for action, as efforts to attach or hide various provisions in pieces of legislation becomes a favored way of doing business.

That said, the shenanigans started early this year — in the fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill as it passed the House, and its relationship to this year’s health benefits exchange bill and our state’s health care reform efforts, in general. Continue reading →

By  Oliver Olsen

There has been considerable discussion over the past few weeks about how Central Vermont Public Service should rebate $21 million owed to its customers.

So what is all the fuss about?

We should start with some history. Back in the 1990s, CVPS, Vermont’s largest electric utility, entered into contracts to purchase electricity from Hydro-Quebec, a large power producer owned by the government of Quebec. The contracts proved to be financially lucrative for Hydro-Quebec, but not quite so for CVPS. Continue reading →