Financial Assistance Programs
BED continues to focus on supporting our customers who have experienced pandemic-related financial hardships and reminds our customers about the availability of the following assistance programs:
BED Energy Assistance Program
Assistance is available to all income-qualified customers in the form of a monthly bill credit of 12.5%.
Vermont Homeowner Assistance Program
Vermont HAP helps homeowners prevent home foreclosure and displacement with assistance for overdue mortgage payments, homeowners association fees, property taxes, and utilities. The VHAP program will close the applicant portal on 6/12/23.
Net Zero Energy Podcast
The City of Burlington, Vermont’s goal is to reduce, and eventually eliminate, fossil fuel usage. In this podcast series, Burlington’s Director of Sustainability Jennifer Green and her guests will be sharing ways we can all reduce our energy usage for heating, driving, and everything else we plug in.
Equity In The Community – Ita Meno
In commemoration of Asian American pacific Islander Heritage Month, we speak with Ita Meno, an Indigenous Islander of the CHamoru diaspora, and BED’s first ever Project & Equity Analyst. They bring over a decade of experience working for the City of Burlington (CEDO and the Department Permit & Inspections) to help us bring a fresh perspective to our department’s work and to their work with CQ Strategies. Ita is helping us reach all of our customers including those who may not be able to switch to various Net Zero Energy technologies right now.
Biomass in the Big Picture | Adam Sherman & Betsy Lesnikoski
VEIC Senior Consultant Adam Sherman and BED’s Chief Forester Betsy Lesnikoski discuss the harvesting practices we support
Private vs. public forests; misconceptions surrounding biomass harvesting; how they support the future of Vermont’s forests; and carbon emissions at McNeil Generating Station.
Historic Building Preservation – Mary O’Neil
Principal Planner at the City of Burlington’s Department of Permitting and Inspections. Mary is also a historic preservationist and partnered with BED to develop a guide for owners of historic buildings working to make their buildings Net Zero Energy.
CVOEO | Virginie Diambou
Virginie Diambou, CVOEO’s Racial Equity Director, speaks about the organization’s stated mission to “address fundamental issues of economic, social, racial, and environmental justice” and, specifically, the successes they’ve had in their weatherization program.
Net Zero Energy News
- Vermont Enacts Groundbreaking Law to Help Highest-Need Drivers Switch to EVs, Save on Fuel Costs June 1, 2023 - Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law S.137, a bill that gives municipal utility Burlington Electric Department the power to create new incentives to help high-volume gasoline users switch to electric vehicles.
- Lake Monsters Customer Appreciation Nights May 31, 2023 - BED will be joining our Vermont Lake Monsters friends at the ballpark at the games on Wednesday, June 7 and Thursday, July 6.
- Statement by Burlington Electric Department and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300 Leadership in Response to Proposed Legislation Supported by Renewable Energy Vermont February 1, 2023 - Burlington, VT – The following leaders at Burlington Electric Department (BED) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 300 made
- Mayor Miro Weinberger, City Departments, Hula, BHS Students, and Environmental Partners Promote New Climate Policies to Help City Pursue Net Zero Energy Goal January 24, 2023 - Highlight Town Meeting Day Ballot Item that Would Include Carbon Pollution Impact Fee
- Rebates for 2023 January 13, 2023 - Burlington Electric Department customers now have available the best combination of electrification incentives ever along Burlington’s path to Net Zero