Vermont Gov. Phil Scott is launching a regional effort and stakeholder process to lower energy costs for New York and New England after being elected the new chair of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors.
Following a recent meetup in Washington, D.C. of the nonpartisan association of governors from the northeastern U.S., Scott announced the Energy Affordability Initiative. The project will focus on identifying ways to make energy cheaper in a region that suffers from wintertime price spikes caused by constraints in natural gas supplies and faces possible blackouts in the future as older coal, gas and nuclear-powered generators are taken offline. The association — consisting of New York and the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont — encourages interstate cooperation on economic, social and environmental issues.
"High energy costs impact our entire region, and our ability to create more and better paying jobs," said Scott, a Republican, in a news release. "Collaboration and coordination across our states is crucial to the strength of our communities and region, providing opportunities to grow our economies, make the region more affordable and competitive … and preserve our shared natural resources."
At Scott's request, the governors of the association's six member states have agreed to convene a task force to identify specific steps to take while meeting each state's clean energy goals. The Vermont-led task force will also seek input from stakeholders across the region and will present a report with recommendations to governors when they convene at their upcoming summer meeting in August in Stowe, Vt.
