Northfield Electric Department Links

NORTHFIELD ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT

Below is a list of useful outside websites compiled by Northfield Utility Assistant Douglas Reed.

Please note that:

Opening the links listed below will take you out of the official Northfield, Vermont website.

The Northfield Municipality is not responsible for the content of these websites.

All italicized text is from the link’s own website.

The Public Service Board is the state agency that regulates the Northfield Electric Department

Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (VPPSA) purchases and sells power for the Northfield Electric Department. VPPSA also provides other services, including rate cases.

Green Mountain Power (GMP) is the electric company with which the Northfield Electric Department has contracted to maintain power lines, poles, etc.

Vermont Electric Power Company, Inc. (VELCO) owns the major power transmission lines in Vermont.

ISO New England acts to protect power transmission lines throughout New England.

The Vermont System Planning Committee (VSPC) develops and implements strategies to ensure utilities are required to thoroughly analyze and consider the full range of alternatives before making a decision on how best to resolve a reliability deficiency.

Dig Safe provides information to utilities (and the general public) on the location of power lines, either above or below ground.

Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) and the Washington Electric Cooperative (WEC) are the two electric companies that provide service to Northfield residents who live outside the Northfield Electric Department’s service area.

Efficiency Vermont and Energy Savers provide on their websites much useful information on conserving energy and helping to reduce energy costs.

Public Service Board, State of Vermont: The Public Service Board is a quasi-judicial board that supervises the rates, quality of service, and overall financial management of Vermont's public utilities: cable television, electric, gas, telecommunications, water and large wastewater companies. It also reviews the environmental and economic impacts of energy purchases and facilities, the safety of hydroelectric dams, the financial aspects of nuclear plant decommissioning and radioactive waste storage, and the rates paid to independent power producers. The Board's mission is to ensure the provision of high quality public utility services in Vermont at minimum reasonable costs, measured over time periods consistent with the long-term public good of the state. The Board strives to achieve this mission by providing an independent, fair and efficient means of resolving public utility disputes; and by guiding the development of state utility policies and rules for public services to best serve the long-term interest of Vermont and its residents, all as defined in Title 30 V.S.A.

Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (VPPSA): The Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (“VPPSA”) is a private authority of the State of Vermont empowered under 30 VSA, Chapter 84 with broad authority to contract to buy and sell wholesale power within Vermont and wholesale and retail power outside Vermont, as well as to issue tax-free debt on behalf of municipal and cooperative electric utilities within Vermont. VPPSA has the latitude to provide such services as may be required in support of the activities of its member municipal utilities and to market its services to non-member utilities as is deemed appropriate.

Green Mountain Power (GMP): Our current rates are at the average of the major New England utilities. With long-term contracts with Hydro-Quebec and Vermont Yankee, our rates are likely to remain stable during volatile times. Our increased focus on renewables points to an even brighter and cleaner future. We also support and promote the state efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont, which brings incentives, rebates, and efficiency programs to all Vermonters. Once we acquire power from our varied sources, we deliver it through a solidly maintained grid of poles, switches, transformers, and substations. Our 4,723 miles of wire deliver electricity with near-perfect regularity. Through a state-of-the-art global positioning system, we can pinpoint problems with stunning accuracy, particularly in rural areas. Last year, we averaged less than one outage per customer.

Vermont Electric Power Company, Inc. (VELCO): The United States Congress enacted the National Energy Act (EPACT) Title VII, in April of 1992, requiring open access to transmission to encourage competition in the electric utility industry. The Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO), as the first ever transmission only company in the United States, has been providing nondiscriminatory access to generators and shippers on comparable terms and conditions for over 40 years.

ISO New England: ISO New England helps protect the health of New England's economy and the well-being of its people by ensuring the constant availability of electricity, today and for future generations. ISO New England meets this obligation in three ways: by ensuring the day-to-day reliable operation of New England's bulk power generation and transmission system, by overseeing and ensuring the fair administration of the region's wholesale electricity markets, and by managing comprehensive, regional planning processes.

The Vermont System Planning Committee (VSPC): The VSPC will develop and implement strategies to ensure utilities are required to thoroughly analyze and consider the full range of alternatives before making a decision on how best to resolve a reliability deficiency. The VSPC will have the following standing members: VELCO; Vermont’s distribution utilities; Energy Efficiency Utility (EEU); the administrator of Vermont’s new initiative to promote renewable energy; the Public Service Department; the Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development Facilitator; and three PSB-appointed members from the public representing, respectively, residential consumers, industrial/ commercial consumers and environmental interests.

Dig Safe: Dig Safe is committed to providing accurate and timely one-call notification to member utilities on behalf of excavators in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Our mission is to promote public safety, protect vital utility services and safeguard against property and environmental damage.

Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS): CVPS, the largest of the state's 22 utilities, serves 151,000 customers across the state. Subsidiary Catamount Energy is a wind energy developer. The Home Service Store, an affiliate, operates a national home maintenance and repair service. Subsidiary SmartEnergy is a water-heater rental business.

Washington Electric Cooperative (WEC): Washington Electric Co-op's system was energized on December 2, 1939, bringing diesel generated power to 150 farms and homes over 55 miles of distribution line. Today, the Cooperative serves over 9,000 members, 97% of whom are residential consumers. Its service area covers 2,728 square miles in parts of 41 towns in north-central Vermont, in the counties of Washington, Orange, Caledonia and Orleans. It operates approximately 1,200 miles of distribution line, with eight substations.

Efficiency Vermont: Efficiency Vermont is the nation's first statewide provider of energy efficiency services. We're operated by an independent, non-profit organization under contract to the Vermont Public Service Board. We provide technical advice, financial assistance and design guidance to help make Vermont homes, farms and businesses energy efficient. We're funded by an energy efficiency charge on your electric bill. Before Efficiency Vermont was created, the energy efficiency charge was used to pay for energy efficiency services formerly provided by your electric utility.

Energy Savers (U.S. Department of Energy): The U.S. Department of Energy, in partnership with Owens Corning, launched Energy Savers in 1998. Since then, Energy Savers has reached more than 2 million people, providing useful tips to help Americans save energy and money at home. This Web site includes tips on using the latest advances in energy-saving products and practices. We provide tips for using less electricity in your home - including home offices and electronics. Tips for saving fuel on the road will keep more money in your pocketbook. And we tell you how to use the power of renewable resources, like the Sun, at home.