Vt. utilities plan for a climate-resilient future

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – With more frequent severe weather fueled by climate change, utilities and communities across the region are working to improve resiliency.

There’s no question the world — including our region — is experiencing more extreme weather. Vermont State Climatologist Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux says it’s all about being resilient in an uncertain future.

“A lot of it has to do with what can we do better? And you know, there’s this this this term that I learned on the day that all this flooding was taking place about resilience, meaning not just to bounce back, but to bounce forward,” she said.

To achieve this, she says all municipalities, state, and federal entities need to work towards an all-hazard approach, taking into account not just flooding but all the other hazards that can impact Vermont. One example is in Brandon, where the downtown was underwater during Irene, but where critical infrastructure improvements like a culvert and flood buyouts kept the town dry this time around.

“So, thinking about vulnerability, it’s a question of where on the landscape are you at risk, are you exposed more or less, right? But it’s also who is at risk and what sort of assets are also at risk. So, doing that deep dive into the who, what, where, why is vulnerable allows you to better stage and prepare,” Dupigny-Giroux said.

Green Mountain Power has been planning for future climate extremes for years. They recently started a “storm resilient neighborhood” with O’Brien Brothers which will be 100% electric, using batteries for energy storage. GMP’s Kristin Kelly says it’s part of an effort to create microgrids that stay connected in rural areas in Vermont. “We are continuing to speed up this work to keep more communities connected with the benefits of energy storage, new underground and line building techniques that prevent outages from happening in the first place and keep communities connected as we see more and more severe weather due to climate change,” she said.

And in Vermont’s biggest city, a recently passed a Net Zero Energy Bond aims to increase resiliency planning. “If you think about our city, roughly almost half of the infrastructure is underground — which is good in terms of avoiding storm damage. But if there was a major flooding event, it could create challenges in getting the power back on. So, we know every part of Vermont has different challenges. We have to be thinking about resiliency when we make these investments,” said Darren Springer with Burlington Electric.

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