佛蒙特州批准电费上涨5.5%：10月1日起27.5万用户账单受影响
佛蒙特州蒙彼利埃讯——佛蒙特州公共事业委员会已批准绿山电力公司（Green Mountain Power）的电价上调申请，自2026年10月1日起，该公司27.5万多名用户的电费将上涨5.5%。以每月电费100美元的家庭为例，涨价后每月将多支付约5.5美元。
绿山电力最初申请涨价7.5%，理由是供电与输电成本上升，并提出一项约3.41亿美元的四年电网建设计划，包括埋设线路、加固架空设备以减少停电。由三名委员组成的公共事业委员会经过自3月开始的审查，最终将涨幅砍掉两个百分点，同时大幅削减了该公司的电网投资计划。
委员会认为，成本上涨压力在很大程度上超出公司可控范围，但7.5%的涨幅对用户负担过重。绿山电力则表示，更频繁的极端风暴要求加快电网韧性建设，其目标是到2030年消除用户停电。
此次涨价正值美国家庭生活成本普遍上升之际。佛蒙特州官员提醒低收入用户，可申请州内的能源援助与账单减免项目。绿山电力称其2024年电力组合已实现100%无碳、79%可再生。
（据佛蒙特州公共事业委员会决定及当地媒体报道）
Vermont Approves 5.5% Electricity Rate Hike Taking Effect Oct. 1 for 275,000 Customers
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont's Public Utility Commission has approved Green Mountain Power's request for a rate increase, effective October 1, 2026: electric bills for the utility's more than 275,000 customers will rise 5.5 percent. A household with a $100 monthly bill would pay about $5.50 more per month.
Green Mountain Power had originally sought a 7.5 percent increase, citing higher power supply and transmission costs, along with a roughly $341 million, four-year grid investment plan to bury power lines and harden overhead equipment to reduce outages. The three-member commission, after a review opened in March, trimmed the increase by two percentage points and sharply cut the utility's grid spending plan.
Regulators found that much of the cost pressure was beyond the company's control but judged a 7.5 percent hike too heavy a burden for customers. The utility argued that more frequent severe storms demand faster resilience construction, tied to its goal of eliminating customer outages by 2030.
The increase comes as American households face broadly rising living costs. Vermont officials remind low-income customers that state energy assistance and bill-discount programs are available. Green Mountain Power says its 2024 energy mix was 100 percent carbon-free and 79 percent renewable.
(According to the Vermont Public Utility Commission's decision and local media reports.)
图片来源：CC0（Wikimedia Commons，摄影：Novoklimov）
