Green Mountain Power (GMP) is building on the success of its customer programs to cut carbon and costs by renewing rebates for 2020 – helping customers find affordable options on electric vehicles, bikes and lawnmowers, heat pumps, and more. GMP launched the rebates in 2019 to reduce costs and customers’ carbon footprints, and customers responded by making thousands of purchases – offsetting 156 million lifetime pounds of carbon, equal to taking 15,000 fossil-fueled vehicles off the road for a year.
Vermont’s two biggest sources of carbon emissions are driving and heating, and rebates focus on helping address those two pollution problems, enabled through the state’s renewable energy standard. Switching to electric power is cleaner than driving or heating with fossil fuels because GMP’s power supply is 90% carbon free and 60% renewable, with a commitment to be 100% carbon free in five years, 100% renewable by 2030.
“I so appreciate Green Mountain Power’s commitment to going green and giving incentives to those who choose to buy, or in my case lease, electric vehicles. I feel proud to live in Vermont, where our power company and the state are working together to prepare for climate change,” said customer Alison Macrae in a thank-you note.
Macrae received a $1,500 GMP rebate when she switched to an electric Nissan Leaf Plus. She also got a free Level 2 home charger through GMP. All of GMP’s customer programs are designed to help reduce costs for all customers, including non-participants.
The rebates helped GMP, working with customers, exceed aggressive 2019 carbon reduction goals by 40%. Other key factors were partnerships with business customers, which helped those customers cut carbon emissions and their operating costs. GMP business partnerships completed in 2019 will offset 91.3 million pounds of carbon by switching from fossil fuels to electricity to run key parts of the businesses.
“Going with electricity over propane is an important way we are saving money. This project regulates the pool temperatures better, makes our customers happy, and we couldn’t have done this without GMP,” said Joe Major, executive director of the Upper Valley Aquatics Center, which hosts 300,000 visitors each year in White River Junction. GMP worked with Efficiency Vermont on the project to install new electric boilers.
Mocha Joe’s Roasting Co. in Brattleboro switched from a propane-fueled air filtration system for its coffee roasting operation, to an electric one, which will save money, offset 1.8 million pounds of carbon, and reduce the coffee company’s fossil fuel consumption by about 84 percent. They will use the savings to invest in their business and employees.
“We really care about our carbon footprint and try to do everything we can to reduce waste and our impact on the environment. This wouldn’t have happened without GMP, and now we can put that savings toward salaries for employees, and not fossil fuel,” said Pierre Capy, Mocha Joe’s owner.
In all, GMP’s 2019 rebates and business innovation programs will offset more than 269 million pounds of carbon – the equivalent of taking 25,000 fossil-fueled vehicles off the road for a year.
A new state report just out also shows Vermont’s electric utilities are helping make a difference cutting carbon. The Department of Environmental Conservation Vermont Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Analysis says utilities are responsible for 40 percent of a newly-verified statewide carbon emissions reduction between 2015 and 2016, and the analysis predicts even greater ongoing reductions due to work by Vermont’s utilities.
GMP’s Business Innovation Team is also expanding its suite of EV offerings for business customers, helping them save when they electrify their fleets and install charging stations. GMP’s rebate for electric forklifts is also going up to $3,000. The team offers free consultations for businesses plus expert advice, custom plans to help companies reduce energy use, carbon and costs, and financial incentives to get the work done.
GMP’s rebates will continue until June 30. More details are available on GMP’s website or customers can call 888-835-4672.
