Vermont Public Utility Commission Orders Dismissal of Washington Electric Cooperative Storm Response Complaint

Strategic Insights -

The Vermont Public Utility Commission has ordered the dismissal of a complaint filed by J.G. regarding the Washington Electric Cooperative's storm response to a weather event on November 27, 2023. The complaint alleged that WEC failed to restore service to thousands of customers following a minor weather event, resulting in a humanitarian crisis. However, the Hearing Officer's Proposal for Decision found that WEC's efforts to restore service were reasonable, and the Vermont Department of Public Service concurred with this assessment.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Vermont Public Utility Commission has dismissed a complaint filed by J.G. against Washington Electric Cooperative regarding its storm response to a November 27, 2023, weather event.
  • The complaint alleged that WEC failed to restore service to thousands of customers, resulting in a humanitarian crisis, but the Hearing Officer found that WEC's efforts were reasonable.
  • WEC spent as much as several hundred thousand dollars to restore power as quickly as possible after the storm.
  • J.G.'s power was restored at 3:40 P.M. on November 28, 2023, after an outage lasting 35 hours.
  • The Vermont Department of Public Service reviewed the information filed and found that WEC's efforts to restore service and address customer concerns during and following the storm were reasonable.
  • The Commission has encouraged utilities to continuously improve their responses to climate-change-related reliability concerns.

Statistics:

  • The November 27, 2023, storm dropped 8" to 12" of wet, heavy snow over a large portion of Vermont.
  • The peak customer outage was 35,300.
  • WEC brought in 18 outside crews and 38 extra line workers to restore the damage caused by the storm.
  • The final accounting is not complete, but WEC spent as much as several hundred thousand dollars to restore power following the storm.
  • GMP, an adjacent utility, did not reach full power restoration until approximately 4:00 P.M. on November 28, 2023.
  • Some WEC members remained without power after J.G.'s power was restored.

Sources:

  • Vermont Public Utility Commission Case No. 23-4071-CC
  • WEC's Reply to J.G.'s Complaint
  • Vermont Department of Public Service Comments
  • Washington Electric Cooperative Response to J.G.'s Complaint