Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Power Systems Corp (TSX: NPS) Wednesday announced that it has eliminated the position of CEO. Northern Power, based in Barre, is a publicy traded company in Canada. It has been forced to restate its financial reports because of how revenues of foreign sales have been accounted for. It recently released it year-end 2015 report and intends to restate the first two quarters of 2016 by the end of the summer. Northern Power is a next generation renewable energy technology company known for wind turbines installed in remote locations.

Northern Power's plant in Barre. NP courtesy photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The following are Public Alerts submitted by Wastewater Treatment Facilities for prompt public awareness of untreated discharges and their locations. A new incident has been reported (or existing incident has been modified) for Rutland Wastewater Treatment Facility in City of Rutland as of Wednesday morning. These alerts have been directly reported by Wastewater Treatment Facilities and may have not yet been reviewed by the State. Wastewater Treatment facilities are required to submit a public alert as soon as possible, but no longer than one hour from discovery of an untreated discharge from the wastewater treatment facility.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Electric Department is encouraging the Burlington community to take steps to conserve energy today, as temperatures are rising during what will be one of the hottest days of summer and, therefore, a peak demand day. On a peak demand day, Burlington Electric provides more electricity over a longer period of time to meet high demand. To help “beat the peak,” Burlington Electric suggests that, for as much of the day as possible and especially between noon and 6:30 pm, its customers:

·        Raise thermostats and air conditioners to 70 degrees or more, if possible;

·        Wait on using high-energy demand appliances including washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers; and

·        Turn off all non-essential lights and appliances not needed for safety reasons.

Vermont Business Magazine Despite taking a hit from the ratepayer cap to Vermont Gas Systems' Addison pipeline project, Green Mountain Power and VGS continue to provide positive net income to its Montreal-based parent company. Vermont adjusted net income was $11.5 million, up $8.3 million from the previous year and for the first nine months of the fiscal year it was $50.3 million, up $46.5 million. However, the Addison project resulted in a $16.5 million "impairment" in net income for the quarter, as the cost of the project has increased to $165.6 million with a ratepayer cap of $134 million. In July, GMP reached an agreement with Enel Green Power NA to acquire 14 small hydroelectric power stations located mainly in New England, with an approximate total capacity of 17 MW, and to purchase the output of two other Enel hydroelectric power stations in accordance with 25-year power purchase agreements. This $20.3 million acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval by the Vermont Public Service Board and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, is expected to close in fiscal 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont, leading a 16-state coalition, filed Public Comments with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in which the coalition urged DOJ to expand the allowed uses for funds allocated to the states under a proposed partial settlement between the United States, the State of California and Volkswagen. The settlement (Partial Consent Decree) requires Volkswagen to pay $2.7 billion into a trust which the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Indian Tribes may use for mitigation projects designed to reduce nitrogen oxide (“NOx”) emissions (a pollutant that contributes to smog and acid rain).

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is encouraging members to conserve energy on Thursday, August 11 and Friday August 12, between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. This is when demand for electricity is expected to spike as a result of high temperatures throughout New England. Here is what people can do to help beat the peak during those hours.

• Turn off all unnecessary lights.

• Delay the use of major appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers until after the alert time has passed.

• Turn off air conditioning or raise your thermostat by 3 degrees.

Vermont Business Magazine The first meeting of the Study Committee on Land Use Regulation and Forest Integrity is scheduled for August 18, 2016 from 8:00 am – 11:00 am in the Catamount Conference room at the Agency of Natural Resources main offices in Montpelier at 1 National Life Drive, Davis 2. The Study Committee on Land Use Regulation and Forest Integrity was created by the Legislature in section 18 of Act 171 of the 2016 session. As stated in the Act, the Committee is established “to study potential revisions to 10 V.S.A. chapter 151 (Act 250) and to 24 V.S.A. chapter 117, subchapter 7 (bylaws) to protect contiguous areas of forestland from fragmentation and promote habitat connectivity between forestlands.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Ski NH, the statewide trade association representing alpine and cross country resorts across New Hampshire, has partnered with Vermont's Inntopia, the leading e-commerce and central reservation platform for destination travel in North America, to sell ski tickets to participating ski areas in the Ski NH ticket program. Inntopia will help Ski NH provide an intuitive and enjoyable experience for its customers as well as help Ski NH with increased operational and administrative efficiencies. “We are very excited about our partnership with Inntopia,” said Jessyca Keeler, Executive Director at Ski NH. “We needed a system that delivers ease of use for our consumers, our Ski NH team, and the resort ticketing staff. Inntopia’s intuitive yet powerful platform will meet our needs and provide additional operational functionality that will benefit our sales and marketing efforts.”

by Chris Graff So much for this being the year of the political outsider. Not so in Vermont. The two insiders easily won the Democratic and Republican nominations for governor. Of the five leading candidates for governor, three – Matt Dunne, Peter Galbraith and Bruce Lisman – trumpeted that it was time for a change, time for a new direction. Those three lost. The winners – Sue Minter and Phil Scott – focused on their resumes, their accomplishments and their abilities to get things done.

What’s even more interesting is that Minter and Scott were the optimists. Their perspectives were sunny-side up. Both of them kept their messages positive – unusual in a year in which national politics have been focused on the sky falling in.

This primary election was a rollercoaster, with twists and turns.

The irony is that even though it was one of the longest primary campaigns in history, the contest was roiling down to the final days.

Vermont Business Magazine At the end of the day, none of the big-name races turned out to be close. On the Republican side, the contentious nominating race for governor finished with a significant win for Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott over businessman Bruce Lisman. On the Democratic side, former Transportatioin Secretary Sue Minter won going away from former Google executive Matt Dunne. Other than the margin of victories at the top of the tickets, perhaps the biggest surprise was state Senator David Zuckerman easilty beating Speaker of the House Shap Smith in the Democratic race for lieutenant governor. Zuckerman will face Republican Randy Brock, the former state auditor, who ran uncontested.

This was a historically rare primary, as both parties fielded contested races. The last three Republican candidates in an open race for governor were virtually uncontested in their primaries: Richard Snelling, Jim Douglas and Brian Dubie.

Vermont Business Magazine Dan Bennett has been named president and chief executive officer at Gifford Health Care in Randolph. He brings 17 years of leadership experience in small community healthcare organizations, most recently as chief operating officer at Waldo County Healthcare in Belfast, Maine, a position he held for eight years. Prior to that he was executive director and chief financial officer at the Mid-Coast Mental Health Center in Rockland, Maine. Bennett, who will start at Gifford on October 3, 2016, rose to the top of the candidate pool early in a national search that began after Joseph Woodin’s departure in April.

Dan Bennett

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power residential customers have a new option for saving money on their electric bills with the Empower Rate, a pilot program which provides incentives for reducing energy use at peak times. This program is voluntary and could benefit those customers who are interested in saving money by reducing their energy use for up to ten “critical peak energy days” throughout the year.

“As Vermont’s Energy Company of the future, finding new ways to empower our customers to save money is really important to us,” said Kristin Carlson, Green Mountain Power’s Chief Communication Executive. “These innovative rate options will reward customers directly for partnering with us to reduce energy a few days each year when the electric system is experiencing extremely high use.”