Let’s have a substantive debate on energy affordability

Dear Editor,

I am looking forward to Wednesday, Oct. 21, when the two candidates for governor will debate. Affordability is bound to be the general topic. And that discussion will likely fan out in different directions, such as healthcare affordability and the cost of education.

I am especially interested in energy affordability. I want to know what the candidates can tell us about addressing the needs of Vermonters locked into a dependency on gas and diesel for transport and fuel oil and propane for heating. The Energy Action Network’s 2026 Annual Progress Report says that in 2024 Vermonters spent $3.2 billion on energy — about $1 billion on electricity — and the other two-thirds on fossil fuels for transportation and heating. What is each candidate going to do to help Vermonters better afford heating their homes and businesses, and driving their trucks and cars?

I wonder if the candidates will acknowledge that the $2.2 billion a year fossil fuel number from 2024 has risen by many millions due to fuel cost increases driven by the ongoing U.S. war with Iran. Will the candidates acknowledge that Vermonters continue to be subjected to those cost increases? I’m interested in whether the candidates think that those billions of dollars a year that we send to fossil fuel producers can be better spent here in Vermont.

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The report reminds us that average Vermont annual household energy expenditures in 2024 were more than 30% higher than the U.S. average. Can these candidates convince voters they have a plan to reduce that difference? And that is average energy affordability. Will the candidates have a plan to support not just the average Vermonter but our most economically vulnerable citizens who are continually exposed to these increased energy costs?

It is my hope that those hosting the debate will raise these and related questions, and encourage substantive engagement on energy affordability that Vermonters deserve.

Dave Farnsworth, South Royalton, Vt.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Let’s have a substantive debate on energy affordability.