WEC Avoids Rate Case, Defers 2025 Revenue to 2026

Thanks to Financial Cushion and Grants, WEC Invests in Right-of-Way Clearing, Infrastructure, and Resources

WEC’s Financial Picture

Steve: People are concerned about the affordability of everything these days, including their electric power. I take that concern to heart while I serve on the Board. It’s always an issue for many members, and it’s coming to a head across the country because we live in a two-tier economic society where perhaps 20% of the people have around 80% of the assets. This inequality leads to hardship felt only by some. What can our Co-op do about it? We must be mindful of what our members’ concerns are.

Louis: It’s one reason our 2025 finances are such good news for members. For several reasons, especially because we had no major outages and very good production from Coventry in 2025, Washington Electric was able to defer revenue from 2025 into 2026. The biggest impact to members is that we did not go in for a rate case. Most other utilities in Vermont needed to request significant rate increases.

Instead, we are looking at ways to shore up and make some improvements to our operations. A good example is increasing the right-of-way budget, which I hope will improve our cycle of trimming rights-of-way. We’ve been able to update our fleet of trucks and other equipment. For several years before last we have had major storm expenses, and we’re using our healthy position from 2025 to put us in a more secure position going forward.

We’ve been spending about a million dollars a year in right-of-way clearing, which is less than most utilities with our miles and landscape spend. We’ve increased that to about $1.5 million in 2026. I’m hopeful to keep that higher number going forward to get in a better cycle of clearing lines long-term. It takes a long time to have an impact, because we have so many miles of line and hiring crews to cut trees in a safe way around electric lines is not cheap.

Another benefit, which is more opaque but still important, is we will meet our lenders’ financial metrics, which keeps us able to access low-interest loans from the Rural Utility Service. That saves members money in the short- and long-term in lower interest payments.

Infrastructure Updates

Louis: We’re still considering the future of the Wrightsville hydro plant and all possible options. We had a sale lined up, but regulators did not allow us to complete it. We’re still working to figure out what action will best serve Washington Electric Co-op members. Either we continue to operate it, and that comes with significant upgrades and work to be done; or we continue to work on selling it. The universe of small hydro operators isn’t large, but we are talking with people who may have interest in buying it.

I anticipate having a contract for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) vendor and installer before the Board of Directors by the end of spring. We intended to have the Board vote on it at our last meeting, but there’s a provision called “Build America By America” which requires equipment like this to be made in the US if it’s going to be used with federally funded projects. We’re working through what that means for this project. It could mean that some of the components are a little more expensive; it could mean we have to seek a waiver; it could mean slightly different components. So much of this project is covered by state and federal grant money that any financial impact to members will be very small. 

Steve: It’s important to recognize that WEC staff have successfully locked in $4.75 million in grant funding for the AMI project we would have otherwise had to take out loans to cover. It’s too bad dealing with the attached strings is delaying the project, but members should be relieved it’ll be worth it.

Louis: At Coventry, we’re working toward installation of new chiller equipment. The plant will be out for about a week. We’re aiming to complete the work in May and not in June, when transmission costs are higher.

The Jackson Corners substation rebuild is through the first round of state approvals, and we’re now going out to RFP [request for proposals] to bid for the engineering work to rebuild that project. We’ll do the engineering first and then we can seek federal loans to do the actual work. It’s still probably two years from completion, between the need to do a federal environmental review, state environmental review and permitting, engineering, and building.

We’re partway through the Greensboro feeder rehabilitation project rebuild. One of the towns up there asked us to delay the work until the end of mud season. We’re at the tail end of that now, and we hope once we complete that feeder that will improve service to our Greensboro/Walden area. We’re just getting approval now to work on the Jones Brook feeder. That’s largely right-of-way clearing that will be paid for by GRID grant funding, which stands for Grid Resilience Utility and Industry grants. It’s a federal program administered by the state.

DPS Recommends Pause on Increasing Net Metering Rates

Louis: Every two years the PUC [Public Utility Commission] evaluates and adjusts the compensation for net metering systems. Because the payment for excess generation of net metering is based on the average statewide residential rate, without any intervention the payment would increase as part of this biennial review. The DPS [Department of Public Service] made a recommendation that for a year the PUC should suspend its own rules and not increase that compensation for extra power produced, because of the increase in residential electric rates that’s happened across the state—although not at WEC—and to give regulators time for a more comprehensive review of net metering rates.

Not surprisingly, those with net metering systems, and those whose business it is to promote and install those systems, don’t like the idea of the pause on the increase in net metering rates. The PUC has not yet issued their biennial review. Washington Electric has, along with VEC, submitted comments supporting the Department’s position that there should be a pause in the increase of net metering excess generation rates and compensation.

AI and Security

Louis: I fully expect artificial intelligence to become a larger share of the software we use to run Washington Electric Co-op. Part of our system for identifying outage locations is predictive software that helps us figure out where outages are occurring. You can imagine AI making that system a lot more accurate and efficient. There are dozens of examples where artificial intelligence could help us. I think most of the work will happen at the levels of the vendors who provide us with various services and software and other equipment. Another way we’re using AI is through satellite imagery to plan for and implement right-of-way cutting.

There’s no artificial intelligence for climbing a utility pole. Having seen the work of the line crew in the field, it would be a challenge for a robot to do it, given the combination of physical and intellectual work that goes into repairing a power line.

There’s a big concern that the data centers that back up AI will increase electric prices in the United States, and I think that will happen. They are massive users of power and generally have to operate 24/7, so it’s hard to manage a data center in a way that can be beneficial from a peak transmission cost management situation, though people are working on that in different ways. The likelihood of a data center being located in VT is small, but I think it’s quite possible there will be some in Quebec, which could impact Hydro-Québec’s interest and ability to sell us power.

Steve: Regarding the rapid build-out of data centers, we expect it to create higher costs for WEC even though it’s unlikely a data center would be built in our service territory. The soaring demand for grid infrastructure equipment required by the nationwide expansion of data centers drives up the costs for all utilities needing to maintain and upgrade their own grids. Although it might be undesirable for other reasons, the electric usage of a local data center, like that of any large industrial customer, could eventually result in lower bills for residential ratepayers. I’ll add that like other utilities, we are likely to explore private AI applications for making our operations more efficient. But we’re wary of routinely incorporating large language modules like ChatGPT or Claude in member-facing applications where security is paramount. We’re conscious about shielding our members’ personal data.

Louis: Right. Certainly there are people here who use ChatGPT to edit a document, but not ones with member information. Like all utilities, we’re under strict rules to protect private data. Our systems have controls and protections in place to keep private data private. We band together with hundreds of other co-ops around the country to jointly fund and support the private AI system in the software we use.

PowerShift and Load Management Programs

Louis: There are several programs available that may interest our members. We’re getting our new EV PowerShift program up and running. [Learn more about PowerShift in the April-May 2026 issue of Co-op Currents and on wec.coop/incentives] We’re still developing grants that match batteries to demand management, so we’ll have more to say on that soon. And we still have some slots open in our ACRE [Affordable Community Renewable Energy] program. That’s a monthly bill credit of $45 for five years for income-qualified members. Washington Electric offers this in partnership with the state and with Vermont Electric Co-op, and we have just over 200 spots to offer our members. We’re well over half full but we still have some spots. 

We’ve had a really strong response to our update of PowerShift, and a lot of EV owners signing up for it. The program gives members a bill credit for setting their EVs to charge at off-peak times. There are still some tweaks and changes with how we administer it and run the software behind it—it’s been a lot of work for Kevin [Crawford, Energy Innovator Fellow] and JJ [Vandette, Director of Special Projects and Innovation] to develop that program. We won’t have time-of-use rates until we have advanced meters built out, but this bill credit design helps incentivize off-peak charging in the meantime. It’s intended to be beneficial for both EV operators and members at large.

Steve: Yes, PowerShift is not a program simply to benefit EV owners. If EV owners can be flexible about when they charge, the program incentivizes them to do so when it’s less expensive for WEC to purchase the power they use. It’s a good incentive for a cooperative to use because everyone benefits; it can be a win-win for all members, we believe. And while federal tax incentives for EVs are gone for now, the volatility of gasoline prices continues to make a good case for an EV if charging solutions are convenient for you since they are cheaper to drive.

Louis: It’s recognizing the changing nature of the utility world, where the time of energy use is just as important as the amount of energy used. I view it as a continuation of Washington Electric’s commitment to educating members about efficient use and using energy efficiently. Time of use is another form of energy efficiency. Using electricity at the best time is beneficial to the rest of the membership as well as to your own electric bill.

Steve: As a small utility we often learn from other utilities’ experiments and pilot programs and try to determine what seems to be working well at the present time. Since we are a cooperative that invests its members’ capital in projects while using grants in the few cases they’re available, we may exhibit a lower tolerance for risk than an investor-driven company might do. Nonetheless, evolution is essential, and WEC can and should adapt at a pace appropriate to its financial responsibility to its members.

Louis: Absolutely. This is us benefiting from Vermont Electric Co-op’s [VEC] work and experience. For several years they’ve been doing electric vehicle programs, and we’re adopting a lot of what they’ve done into our program. We’ve really benefited from their knowledge, experience, and generosity. We’re not on the vanguard of this—we’re catching up—but that also has a benefit, because we can learn from what others have already tried and save ourselves the money and time of experimentation.

Steve:We’re collaborating with other utilities, which is a good thing to do. Is WEC’s early pioneering 100% renewable energy part of it, Louis?

Louis: No question. Without WEC and the other two 100% renewable utilities, Vermont would not have set the standard for all utilities to become 100% renewable.

It’s also probably in part because of cooperative principles. In part because we don’t compete with each other, there’s a great deal of sharing and exchange of info among the co-ops, especially among WEC and VEC, and we’ve benefited tremendously from that across the board.

Steve: There’s a lot of change in the utility world. Not all of it is doom and gloom. The utility business is changing and it’s an exciting time to be in it. We’re looking forward to providing you a running commentary along the way and fielding your questions and concerns as they come up.

Learn More

For more information about PowerShift, visit wec.coop/incentives

For more information about ACRE, visit wec.coop/assistance-programs.

You can also learn about either program by calling WEC at 802-223-5245 / or toll-free at 800-932-5245