Both sides are claiming something of a victory in a petition filed by environmentalists, led by Vermont Law School, against the state's largest electric utility, Green Mountain Power. The environmentalists claimed in a Federal Trade Commission petition filed last September that GMP was engaging in deceptive marketing practices in regards to renewable energy credits.
In a letter to GMP dated February 5, the FTC gave GMP a mild rebuke about its marketing practices involving RECs. RECs are sold to other entities to meet their renewable energy requirements. The original complaint stated that GMP was both selling RECs and claiming that those same renewable energy sources were used in Vermont.
The fact that the FTC told GMP to be "careful" in its marketing was seen by the environmentalists as indication that it was deceptive. Meanwhile, the FTC declining to open an investigation was seen by GMP as proving that it had not been deceptive in its marketing of renewable energy assets.
FTC staff wrote in the letter, “GMP may not have clearly and consistently communicated the fact that it sells renewable energy certificates (RECs) to entities outside Vermont for most of its renewable generating facilities and, as a result, may have created confusion among Vermont electricity customers about the renewable attributes of their electricity.”
Kevin B Jones, one of the petitioners and professor of energy technology and policy at VLS, said: “I am pleased with the FTC’s letter because it supports our concerns that GMP was misleading its customers by claiming that it was providing them with renewable energy when, in fact, GMP was selling the renewable attributes and the right to make those claims to customers outside of Vermont.”
Said GMP Spokesperson Kristin Carlson: “We are pleased that the FTC has declined to open an investigation into this meritless claim. When the claim was filed, a group of Vermont business, energy, and state leaders joined GMP in supporting a clean energy future and expressing their disappointment at Vermont Law School’s Environmental Law Clinic for filing this claim. GMP is proud of its leadership accelerating the adoption of renewables, while keeping costs low for Vermonters by selling RECs, and helping Vermont become a national leader in clean energy. We remain committed to open and clear communications with Vermonters about our energy portfolio and the importance of selling RECs to encourage more local renewable generation while keeping costs low.”
The sale of RECs produced about $30 million of value to its customers through lower rates, GMP stated.
The FTC concluded the letter by urging GMP to “carefully review its current and future communications to ensure that Vermont customers, and other market participants, clearly understand that GMP sells RECs for many of its renewable facilities and thus has forfeited its right to characterize the power delivered from those facilities as renewable, in any way.” And cautioned that, “If we identify concerns in the future, we reserve the right to take further action.”
VLS Professor Patrick Parenteau, who served as counsel to the petitioners, compared the FTC action to a warning a driver may be issued when pulled over for speeding.
“The fact that you don’t get fined doesn’t mean you weren’t speeding,” Parenteau said. “It just means you better not get caught again.”
“Our goal from the start was to better educate Vermonters that, contrary to the statements of GMP, much of the energy from renewable facilities in Vermont were being sold out of state,” Jones added. “This policy has resulted in the unfortunate result that the Vermont SPEED program increases Vermont’s carbon footprint. The FTC’s warnings, combined with the legislative debate focused on moving to a real renewable portfolio standard, will increase transparency with consumers about the sources of their energy supply and surely lead to progress on actually reducing Vermont’s carbon footprint.”
GMP said in a statement that state laws aimed at encouraging renewable generation have helped Vermont create the highest number of solar jobs per capita in the country as well as the development of wind energy and biomass. Utilities like GMP utilize the REC market to help expand renewable generation and keep rates low for their customers. The FTC urged GMP to provide clear, ongoing communications with customers about REC sales to avoid confusion or misinformation about where energy attributes are sold. GMP said it will work hard, as it always does, to communicate regularly and effectively with customers.
GMP pointed out that Vote Solar named GMP a solar champion in 2014, an award that honors leaders for outstanding efforts to make solar power a mainstream energy resource, and in 2013 the Solar Electric Power Association named GMP Utility of the Year. In addition, GMP operates 32 hydro-electric plants, selling the RECs from some of those plants, and operates and sells RECs from the Kingdom Community Wind and Searsburg wind farms, administers the Cow Power program among other leading clean energy projects.
PHOTO: GMP wind mills in Searsburg, courtesy photo.