HYDRO-QUEBEC STATEMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD

The proposed purchase of 450 megawatts of el ectri c power

f rom Hydro-Quebec by 24 Vermont ut i l i t i es rai ses enormous i ssues
f o r a l l Ve r mo n t e r s . Ma n y o f t h e s e i s s u e s , c o n c e r n i n g t h e
ec ol ogi c al , s oc i al , and ec onomi c c ons equenc es of Hy dr o- Quebec
power, have been t aken up by coal i t i ons of envi r onment al i st s,
human r i ght s act i vi st s, ar chaeol ogi st s, ecol ogi st s, economi st s,
and ener gy speci al i st s acr oss New Engl and and Quebec. . The
t r emendous s i z e and l engt h of t he c ont r ac t s mak e t he pr opos ed
p o we r p u r c h a s e s e s p e c i a l l y i mp o r t a n t .
I n v i e w o f t h e c a v a l i e r d e v e l o p me n t p o l i c i e s o f Hy d r o - Qu e b e c
and t he Quebec government , t he soci al and ecol ogi cal eff ect s of
our dependence on hi gh energy usage, and the l ong-term publ i c
pol i cy choi ces i nvol ved i n t hi s par t i cul ar pur chase of Hydr o-
Quebec power, every Vermont er has a ri ght t o part i ci pat e i n
deci di ng whet her we shoul d buy t hi s power. However, t he nat ure of
t h e c u r r e n t d e c i s i o n - ma k i n g p r o c e s s ma k e s t h i s i mp o s s i b l e .
T h e s t a t e ' s b i g g e s t u t i l i t i e s . Gr e e n Mo u n t a i n Po we r a n d
C e n t r a l V e r m o n t P u b l i c S e r v i c e , a r e p r i v a t e c o r p o r a t i o n s r u n b y
manager s f or t he pr ot of shar t i hol der s. Unl i ke a publ i cl y- owned
ut i l i t y, such as t he Bur l i ngt on El ect r i c Depar t ment , whi ch can
onl y make deci si ons of such great magni t ude wi t h t he approval of
t h e c i t i z e n s o f B u r l i n g t o n i n a r e f e r e n d u m , t h e s t a t e ' s
p r i v a t e l y - o wn e d u t i l i t i e s a r e n o t a c c o u n t a b l e t o Ve r mo n t e r s . T h e
char ge of publ i c over si ght f al l s t o t he Publ i c Ser vi ce Boar d
( P S B ) .
T h e PSB, a s a s ma l l , q u a s i - j u d i c i a l b o d y d i r e c t l y a p p o i n t e d
by t he gover nor, i n one publ i c hear i ng i n Mont pel i er cannot cl ai m
t o r e p r e s e n t Ve r mo n t e r s . Ve r y f e w p e o p l e wi l l b e a b l e t o a t t e n d
or wi l l have t he oppor t uni t y t o ar r i ve at t hei r own deci si on.
I n c ont r as t , t her e hav e been doz ens of publ i c meet i ngs and
communi t y f or ums hel d t o di scuss t he Hydr o- Quebec power deal s and
ener gy ef ci ency and conser vat i on i n Bur l i ngt on. The Bur l i ngt on
El ect ri c Depart ment has at t empt ed t o make energy i ssues publ i c
i s s u e s s o t h a t k n o wl e d g e a b l e c i t i z e n s c a n p a r t i c i p a t e i n p o l i c y
maki ng. ( I t t ur ns out t i . at many ci t i zens ar e i nt er est ed i n t hese
q u e s t i o n s . )
Ne e d l e s s t o s a y, t h e s t a t e ' s s e c r e t i v e p r i v a t e l y - o wn e d
u t i l i t i e s h a v e n o t o p e n e d u p t h e i r p o l i c y - ma k i n g p r o c e s s t o
p u b l i c p a r t i c i p a t i o n . We h o p e t h a t t h e PSB wi l l .
I n o r d e r t o m a k e t h e r e v i e w o f H v d r o - O u e b e c p o w e r p u r c h a s e s
mor e open and accessi bl e, we ur ge t he PSB t o hol d dozens of
h e a r i n g s a c r o s s t h e s t a t e . A s t h e B u r l i n g t o n E l e c t r i c D e p a r t m e n t
h a s d o n e , t h e PSB s h o u l d t a k e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r ma k i n g s u r e t h a t
Ve r mo n t e r s k n o w a b o u t a n d a t t e n d t h e s e me e t i n g s , a n d t h a t t h e y
hav e t he needed i nf or mat i on t o k nowl edgeabl y ev al uat e t he i s s ues
a t h a n d . T h i s s h o u l d i n c l u d e w i d e l y a d v e r t i s i n g f o r u m s a n d
hear i ngs t hr ough t el evi si on and r adi o ads and yer s. Educat i onal
ma t e r i a l s s h o u l d a l s o b e p r o d u c e d .
T h e PSB a n d t h e p r i v a t e l y - o wn e d u t i l i t i e s t h a t i t r e g u l a t e s
s h o u l d n o t c o n t i n u e m e e t i n g a n d m a k i n g d e c i s i o n s w i t h v i r t u a l l y
no par t i ci pat i on al l owed bv most of t he st at e' s r esi dent s. Ther e
i s s i m p l y n o s u b s t i t u t e f o r d e m o c r a t i c p r o c e s s .
T h e P S B s h o u l d w o r k i n c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e P u b l i c S e r v i c e
Depart ment t o arrange educat i onal f orums and publ i c heari ngs i n
a l l m a n o r p o p u l a t i o n c e n t e r s s o t h a t p e o p l e c a n e a s i l y a t t e n d .
Peopl e have a ri ght to eval uate these i ssues themsel ves and make
d e c i s i o n s t h a t a r e g o i n g t o e f f e c t n o t o n l y t h e i r l i v e s wh e r e v e r
they may live in Vermont, but also the culture and environment in
places far removed from Vermont. The issues we must deal with are
n o t d i f c u l t t o u n d e r s t a n d , b u t p e o p l e mu s t h a v e a c c e s s t o t h e
i n f o r m a t i o n t h e y n e e d .
We u r g e t h e P S B . t h e l e g i s l a t u r e , a n d t h e G o v e r n o r t o
promote public participation in the Hvdro-Ouebec decision in the
s p i r i t o f t h e l o n g t r a d i t i o n o f V e r m o n t d e m o c r a c y . A t t h e h e a r t
of t hi s t r adi t i on i s t he pr emi se t hat ci t i zens have t he r i ght t o
mak e dec i s i ons on i s s ues t hat hav e bear i ng on t hei r own l i v es and
t h o s e o f t h e i r n e i g h b o r s .
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