LETTER: Vermonters decry cuts to solar net metering program
June 8, 2026To the Community:
As long-standing current and former members of Vermont's active and dispersed network of town energy committees, we have worked hard to advance solutions in our communities and for our friends and neighbors in those communities to reduce energy costs, cut planet-warming pollution, and become more energy independent. Solar, which is strong, reliable, and powerful – and now the cheapest power on the planet – can do the job.
For decades, rooftop and community solar have been important mechanisms to help Vermonters save money and stabilize energy prices through the state’s net metering program.
Net metering allows electric customers to receive a credit back from their utility for the solar electricity that the customers generate. It has been a key tool in making solar energy deployment possible for families and communities in Vermont.
That is why we are so disappointed by the Public Utility Commission’s recent decision to make it more expensive, and therefore harder, to get more net-metered solar installed in our state. The commission’s decision raises the cost for solar. Which also means it raises the bar for solar right at the moment when we should be making it easier. Solar energy is the cheapest power on the planet to deploy. The state of Vermont should not be making it harder to go solar.
“This is a deeply shortsighted decision and, ironically, comes directly on the heels of the Trump administration’s rollback of long-standing tax incentives aimed at decimating solar energy,” said Linda Gray, a member of the Norwich Town Energy Committee. “This action stands to deprive Vermonters of the opportunity to go solar, a key cost-saving solution to our soaring energy costs.”
Built environment solar, like residential net-metered solar, is the easiest to permit and the fastest to build, and it reduces the amount of solar that we need to build in fields and forests. It helps Vermonters to electrify while controlling their energy costs. Paired with storage, it also helps Vermonters ride out power outages as extreme weather events increase in frequency and can help reduce the amount Vermont utilities spend on transmission charges.
The Public Utility Commission’s decision to cut the compensation for new customers is penny-wise and pound-foolish. It will mean fewer opportunities for Vermonters to take control of their energy cost and less rooftop solar.
“I installed rooftop solar on my home and know it wouldn’t have been possible for me or many others in my community without net metering,” said Catherine Crawley of Stowe. “I also know several families who wish to invest in price-stable energy sources, such as
solar, but they are extremely hesitant because Vermont as a state does not support it. There are no state or federal incentives to invest in solar to help Vermonters – and Vermont’s electric grid – realize the cost and other benefits from solar now and into the future.”
“The PUC’s decision is deeply shortsighted, cost and climate-wise, and it also fails to respond to public will,” said Jeff Forward of Richmond. “There were more than 1,000 public comments from Vermonters asking for the commission to further promote – not penalize – solar. Unfortunately, this decision demonstrates they were not listening and, instead, are moving forward with another cut to this important program.”
The net metering program has played a crucial role in promoting renewable energy adoption in Vermont. However, the PUC’s actions threaten the future of small-scale solar projects in our state, precisely at a time when we as a state should be doing everything we can to create a glide path to renewables.
Submitted by current and former town energy committee leaders: Catherine Crawley, Stowe; Linda Gray, Norwich; Jeff Forward, Richmond; Jim Hand, Dorset; and Allison Pouliot, Bristol.