By David Young Last issue, I shared how to stay safe if you ever find yourself in a car-utility pole accident (Do the Bunny Hop, June-July 2026). While I was preparing that piece, an incident happened that could have been extremely dangerous — but wasn’t. My sincere congratulations and appreciation to the Calais highway department for doing everything exactly right in an emergency situation, and
September 2, 2026
Helping Dads See Their Value: Vermont Fatherhood WEC Community Fund Supports Barre-Based Nonprofit that Strengthens Families I knew what I’d done in the past was good for dads. This has been next-level. I’m trying to build a model in Barre that will be effective in other places. –Josh Miller “What I’ve learned in my years working with parents is, guys just don’t realize how important
September 2, 2026
By Brian Callnan Peak energy demands have been getting pushed to the nighttime. March through June of 2026 all had peak energy use between 9 and 10 PM, well after the sun had set. What is a Duck Curve and Why Are We Talking About It? I’m not sure who first came up with the name “Duck Curve,” but it seems to fit (if you
September 2, 2026
Batteries and Meters; Wrightsville and Coventry: Co-op Infrastructure Updates Co-op Plans Ahead for Electronic Voting In Time for 2027 Board Election The goal of our first foray is to achieve cost savings by peak shaving, but as batteries continue to get cheaper and different battery chemistries become commercially available, the economical uses for this technology abound, particularly in reducing the traditional need of fossil fuel
September 2, 2026
Power has been restored to the Vershire area. Outage was caused by a tree. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC immediately at 1-802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. Outage – Tuesday– 8/3/26 – 10:20 a.m. There is an outage affecting about 220 WEC members in the Vershire area currently. Crews are
August 3, 2026
Tuesday– 7/28/26 – 6:45 pm Crews have restored power in WEC territory. Thank you to the crews and dispatch for their continued efforts to restore all members during these summer storms. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC immediately at 1-802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. Louis Porter July 21, 2026 Tuesday– 7/28/26
July 28, 2026
Tuesday– 7/21/26 – 2:45 pm Crews have restored power in WEC territory. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC immediately at 1-802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. Tuesday– 7/21/26 – 2:15 pm WEC crews have discovered the cause of the large outage in East Montpelier and Plainfield. A tree came down on
July 21, 2026
Thursday – 7/16/26 – 8:51 pm All outages have been restored. Our thanks to our line crew, dispatchers, member service representatives and all others who have helped with this outage. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC immediately at 1-802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. Thursday – 7/16/26 – 6:22 pm WEC
July 16, 2026
Wednesday – 7-15-26 – 2:45pm The large outage in the East Montpelier area has been restored. Due to the high winds smaller outages continue to occur. Please continue to be prepared for unexpected outages. Thanks to WEC line crews, dispatchers and member services for their continuous hard work during these summer outages. There are still close to 1000 people without power in the southern part
July 15, 2026
Thursday 7/2/26 – 4:00 pm All members have been restored to service, Thanks to WEC line crews, dispatchers and member services for their hard work during this overnight outage. About 45 Vermonters remain out of service around the state. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC
July 2, 2026
Thursday 6/18/26 – 9:45 pm All members have been restored to service, Thanks to WEC line crews, member services representatives and dispatchers for their hard work during todays outage. About 3,200 Vermonters remain out of service around the state. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC
June 18, 2026
Friday, June 6, 2026 – 11:30pm Crews have restored power to all members. Thank you for your patience as we did this important work. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC immediately at 1-802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. Friday, June 6, 2026 – 9:00am WEC is experiencing issues with the Maple
June 5, 2026
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 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
June 3, 2026
Safety Minute: Do the Bunny Hop By David Young Most of electrical safety is around preventing dangerous situations from happening. But accidents happen, and it’s important to know how to get out of a dangerous situation safely. At this year’s Annual Meeting, I talked about how to be safe when there are electrical hazards around a car. Electricity always seeks the shortest path to the
June 2, 2026
By Louis Porter After a few hours of work the new pole replaced the broken one, and the job was done—and the number of WEC members out of service dropped by one household. The outage on April 16 and 17 was caused by an unusual event. After all, tornados don’t touch down in Vermont that often, and this was the only one to do so
June 2, 2026
The big story for 2025: WEC saw a significant drop in the number of outages and outage hours. Compared to 2024 the number of outages decreased 20%, and the time members went without power dropped by 35%. Ongoing grid improvements help, but a year of relatively mild weather is the main factor behind these encouraging statistics. There were no major storms in 2025—that is, no
June 2, 2026
Monday, June 1, 2026 11:28 am Crews have made the repairs and have restored power to all members. Thank you for your patience as we did this important work. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC immediately at 1-802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. Monday, June 1, 2026 11:15 am WEC will
June 1, 2026
5/5/2026 – 10 pm All outages have been restored. About 1,100 remain out of power statewide. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC immediately at 1-802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. 5/5/2026 – 4:15 pm High winds have caused scattered outages across WEC territory. Crews have already repaired some issued, but about
May 5, 2026
4/17/2026 – 9:18 pm WEC crews have restored all outages in our territory, including those caused by a likely tornado. Thanks to WEC dispatchers, line crews and others for a long day of hard work. Happy National Line Worker Appreciation Day. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by
April 17, 2026
4/25/2026 – 11:15 a.m. Power has been restored to WEC members. We anticipate winds dying down late morning, but it is possible additional outages will come in. Remember: if you see lines down, do not touch or approach them. They could still be energized. Please report any downed wires or trees by calling WEC immediately at 1-802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. 4/25/26 – 7:30 a.m. WEC crews have restored power to
April 5, 2026