WEC’s Community Fund supports a gazillion years of Naturalist Journeys at North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier For as long as anyone at North Branch Nature Center can remember, Washington Electric Co-op has sponsored the popular Naturalist Journeys program through regular donations from the member-supported Community Fund. “Thank you for the gazillion years of support. I think that’s the accurate …
Historic Floods in Central Vermont; WEC Offers Community Fund Flood Response Grants
On July 9, towering purple and black thunderheads sat over Central Vermont, crackling with lightning and dumping hard rain. The next day, July 10, prolonged, torrential rain caused the worst flooding Vermont has seen since Tropical Storm Irene, and in many areas, since 1927. The next day, July 11, state officials watched Wrightsville Dam with concern as water rose within …
President’s & GM’s Message: WEC infrastructure tolerates catastrophic flooding; excess solar threatens substation
Regulators’ order requiring a income-qualified reduction system calls into question Co-op’s ability to self-govern WEC’s flood response, outages Louis: Our poles and wires were not too badly affected by the initial storm on July 10 that caused catastrophic statewide flooding. We had about 1,100 members out. We did, however, have a pretty major outage the following Thursday and Friday, July …
Co-op Seeks Former Members for Capital Credit RefundsÂ
WEC has returned almost $10 million to members since 1998 When your electric cooperative takes in more money than it costs to run the utility, where does that money go? Have you ever noticed a credit on your November electric bill? As a member of an electric cooperative, excess revenue is returned to you and your fellow member-owners. That is …
Safety Minute: Preventing Electrical Hazards in a Wet BasementÂ
Electrical safety tips from Safety and Environmental Compliance Specialist David Young The July floods inundated many Vermont basements with feet of water and mud. Even when there’s not historic flooding, many basements tend to get damp or wet during rainy seasons and the spring thaw. The problem is, basements flood, and electrical panels and electrical equipment are often stored in …
Ask the Energy Coach: Is there an industry standard for EV charging connectors?
Dear Energy Coach: I am buying an EV, and I want to know where I can charge it. Can I charge a non-Tesla at a Tesla charging station now? Why isn’t there an industry standard for this stuff? Let’s start now and then look to the future. Yes: an industry standard is emerging, and it looks like it’s the North …
Incumbents re-elected, storm resilience focus of Annual Meeting
Storms and an equitable energy future discussed at first in-person Annual Meeting since 2019 The Annual Meeting took place in WEC’s Operations Center, where a few dozen transformers were ready for deployment. Most were ordered in 2020, and only just delivered after three years tied up in the supply chain. Members, staff, and guests mingled and enjoyed farm-to-table dining from …
Falling in love with strangers
Erica Heilman of Rumble Strip podcast delights membership with big questions A correction to our last issue: Erica Heilman is not from Calais. She’s from East Calais. Electricity–and now broadband–both reached neighboring Maple Corner first, she reminded WEC members; East Calais residents wait a little longer. She was joking, sort of. Heilman claimed to have a deep need to be …
President’s & GM’s Message: WEC Accesses Contracted Hydro-Québec Power
Longstanding contract provides 2 MW of baseload power as Co-op members’ winter needs and WEC’s electric peaks rise. Also: member education around EV charging, adding load, and safety Background to Hydro-Québec Contract Steve: In 2012, WEC negotiated a new 25-year contract with Hydro-Québec [HQ], and the Board at that time approved it. At the time, WEC did not have a …
When your EV is also your outage battery backup: Looking ahead to bidirectional charging
EVs on the market can already charge other devices. Bidirectional charging EVSE will allow EVs to function as full-house battery backup. Bill Powell, WEC’s Energy Coach, doesn’t usually trade in predicting the future. When it comes to making big purchase decisions, though, he knows WEC members like to plan ahead. Members who are still driving combustion engine cars, but are …