26 Jun 2018

Being a B Corp also Benefits Green Mountain Power’s Bottom Line

by | Date: 26 Jun 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Conventional wisdom suggests that concerns about social and environmental impacts, though well-intended, can distract from a public company’s legal obligation to reward shareholders. But if this conventional wisdom were true, Vermont’s Green Mountain Power ought to be lagging behind its investor-owned electric utility peers. Instead, this certified B Corp is promoting people, planet, and profit, and jumping ahead of its utility industry peers. … Read More
17 May 2018

There’s Nothing Magical About Vermont (Episode 46)

by | Date: 17 May 2018 | posted in: Building Local Power | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In this episode, Vermont gets some love from our various policy experts! Stacy Mitchell, Christopher Mitchell, and John Farrell sit down to talk about the ways in which local self-reliance is thriving in The Green Mountain State, check out the details on how Vermont enables small businesses, renewable energy, and local Internet connectivity.… Read More
21 Jul 2016

What if…Your Electric Utility Was a Benefit Corporation?

by | Date: 21 Jul 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The misunderstandings that from time to time occur between communities and the managers of electric-lighting companies will, to my mind, disappear entirely if the relations between the two are correctly founded on the basis of public control, with corresponding protection to the corporations operating this industry. More than 100 years ago, standing in front of a … Read More
7 Jul 2016

Mountains Beyond Mountains: How Green Mountain Power Became More Than An Electric Utility – Episode 38 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

by | Date: 7 Jul 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

“We just need to become the Ben and Jerry’s of the utility world!” So said Mary Powell (pictured left), CEO and president of Green Mountain Power, as she announced in 2014 that her electric utility had just earned B Corp certification, making it one of more than 1,700 companies in the world committed to rigorous standards … Read More
28 Oct 2015

A Plan B for Every Monopoly Electric Utility?

by | Date: 28 Oct 2015 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Electric companies seemingly face a business “death spiral” because the 20th century rules for the electric grid make it a challenge to address stagnant energy demand and competition from energy-producing customers. The result is a utility-funded war on solar and other distributed power, and retrenchment on last century’s business model as many utilities try to gain … Read More