Vermont is heating up, potentially forcing the state’s 7 petroleum-based plants to start picking up the slack

Vermont spends nearly $4 million annually to keep seven petroleum-based power plants on standby, which operate about 10 hours yearly during peak demand. The state relies heavily on imported hydropower from Quebec but uses these fossil fuel plants as a backup during extreme weather. Ratepayer funds cover 10-20% of utility bills to maintain the plants, despite Vermont having the lowest energy-related CO2 emissions in the U.S.