Generally speaking, there’s a whole lot Vermont officials don’t know about what’s coming down the pike from the federal government.
And specifically speaking, there’s a lot they don’t know about the way potential tariffs could impact — or not impact — the price of energy products coming from Canada, and therefore, how Vermont’s utilities and ratepayers could be affected. (The proposed tariffs are now on hold for at least 30 days.)
The aftershocks of the most recent earthquake from the Trump administration was on display in the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee Tuesday afternoon. There, Kerrick Johnson, the newly appointed commissioner of the Department of Public Service, testified about both his knowledge and lack of knowledge before similarly mystified lawmakers.
“There are so many major questions that we have,” he said.
For example, state officials “don’t have the specific language” of the potential tariff, Johnson said. They were supposed to be able to access further clarification in a public notice in the Federal Register, but that information was published in the register and then withdrawn soon after, he said.
Even then, the information “referenced another, like, 3,000 page document, which most of my team, and most of the team in Vermont, doesn’t have familiarity with,” Johnson said.
So, what do we know? One thing is clear: The lights are going to stay on, he said.
According to initial analyses from Vermont’s Department of Public Service, even in the worst case scenario — that HydroQuebec, from which Vermont gets about 24% of its power, suddenly couldn’t send any power to New England anymore — “the grid will remain reliable,” Johnson said.
But the question, he said, is “what’s the price?”
That’s a much harder puzzle to complete, with so many missing pieces.
But, for example — and remember, dear readers, that these tariffs are not in place right now — Vermont Gas Systems could see “a gross impact of about, between $6 and $7 million,” Johnson said. They have “levers they can pull and push” to possibly soften that blow, he said.
When Rep. Kathleen James, D-Manchester, the committee chair, asked what lawmakers and state officials can do to cushion ratepayers from the impacts of the fluctuations, Kerrick seemed baffled. Hadn’t he just laid it all out?
“What I thought I was making clear is, one, the work continues as if this tariff was going to happen,” he said. Two, he went on, the department is making sure utilities communicate with Vermonters and are “being as creative in defending Vermont ratepayers as much as possible.”
“There’s going to be an administration-wide effort to bring a greater focus, and discipline, and calm, rational assessment, and developing of creative strategies to mitigate where necessary,” he said. “I hope that’s responsive.”
— Emma Cotton
In the know
Gov. Phil Scott on Tuesday established an interagency task force to examine the potential consequences of sweeping tariffs that President Donald Trump has declared on certain imports from Canada, Mexico and China.
Helmed by Vermont Secretary of Commerce and Community Development Lindsay Kurrle, the task force is expected to assess the possible affects the proposed tariffs could have on Vermont while “identifying options for mitigating short-term and long-term impacts on consumers and ratepayers, as well as opportunities for expanding any potential upside,” according to a Tuesday press release from the governor’s office.
“The Governor has asked for a tangible analysis of net impacts, not a knee jerk reaction to the idea of tariffs or the unfortunate friction federal trade policies create with our very good friends to the north and that is exactly what we’re going to provide,” Kurrle said in the release.
The task force includes officials from the state’s Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Department of Labor, Agency of Agriculture and the Public Service Department, according to the release. Read more about the announcement here.
— Habib Sabet
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shed a bit more light on her surprise recent visit to northern Vermont — which followed the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in the area — in a series of posts on social media this week.
Noem wrote on X that she met with the family of that agent, David Maland, as well as other officers from the agency’s Swanton Sector, which is the Border Patrol jurisdiction that covers Vermont, New Hampshire and parts of New York State. Photos posted to Noem’s official X account show her speaking with a large group of Border Patrol agents including Robert Garcia, who is the Swanton Sector’s chief patrol agent in charge.
— Shaun Robinson
On the hill
U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., opposed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday morning.
“I, after this hearing, did not have confidence that Mr. Kennedy would be the one to lead us to a better future,” Welch said during the committee hearing.
Despite their opposition, Kennedy cleared the Senate Finance Committee and now faces a full Senate vote on his confirmation. Republicans all voted in favor of his nomination, while Democrats voted together to oppose it, 14-13.
Sanders, in a written statement, said there are several issues on which he agrees with Kennedy, such as tackling the ultra-processed food industry, the high price of prescription drugs and the massive spending by large pharmaceutical companies on advertising.
However, Sanders said he cannot in good conscience vote for Kennedy to lead the federal agency out of concern he would dilute public health protections in the role. Read more about the vote here.
— Klara Bauters
Read the story on VTDigger here: Final Reading: Top state energy official has more questions than answers about Trump’s tariff plans.