Stowe Electric Department’s (SED) five-year capital plan includes a number of projects that utilize a combination of various funding sources, including operating cash, restricted funds, loans, and grants. Because SED has been successful in obtaining a substantial amount of grant funding, the cost to SED customers for many of our capital projects will be substantially lower than the total project costs. The numbers below represent only those funds SED intends to borrow for projects slated to begin construction over the next 12 to 18 months. Additional funding sources (grants, cash, etc.) will cover any remaining costs.
Express Circuit $400k – Provides redundancy for supplying service to Mountain Rd. in the event of an outage on our sub-transmission line. Improves resiliency and restoration times. Allows SED staff to make future improvements and repairs to the sub-transmission line serving Mountain Rd. without interruption of service.
Distribution Automation Loop Feed $100k – Improves resiliency and restoration times. Provides more resilient infrastructure to support Stowe's emergency shelter at the High School. Implements automated switching technology.
Weeks Hill to Percy Hill 3-Phase $111k – Upgrades aging infrastructure and enables loop feed implementation to improve resiliency and restoration times.
Emergency Operations Center $475k – Renovate "millwright's office" on SED campus to house emergency operations center, office space, and hydro facility controls for the utility.
Moscow Mills Solar $111k – Renewable energy generation at SED headquarters.
Smith’s Falls Hydro $1.32MM – Micro hydro generation and dam restoration at SED headquarters. Provides local, renewable generation in alignment with Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard. Facilitates improved flood response in Moscow Village.
The total capital borrowing needed for the projects listed above comes in at $2.517MM. We have included additional borrowing capacity above that total to account for any unanticipated expenses, bringing SED’s total borrowing request to $2.8MM. These projects are included in SED's five-year capital plan as reviewed and approved by the Stowe Electric Commission in March 2024.
Stowe Electric has been awarded a USDA Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) grant, which is comprised of a low-interest municipal loan with 20% loan forgiveness following completion of funded projects. We have requested clarity from the USDA on whether their PACE grant/loan is considered a "general obligation" of Stowe's taxpayers, though any borrowing through the USDA PACE program or other lenders will be paid back through the revenue of Stowe Electric Department. Pending a determination from USDA, the Town of Stowe’s counsel has advised that SED needs to receive approval of voters for any general obligation bonds. To ensure we’re able to meet project and grant timelines, the Stowe Electric Commission is requesting voter approval for the borrowing necessary to support these projects on the August 2024 special town meeting ballot.
It is important to note that there are additional grant applications for projects included in this bond request that are in various stages of approval. If SED secures additional grant funding, our borrowing would be less than the $2.8MM requested. This ballot item is inclusive of the total amount we intend to borrow and does not reflect the impact of the 20% loan forgiveness available through the USDA PACE grant, as that is awarded after project completion. The USDA PACE loan’s 20% forgiveness provision will further reduce the overall obligation. Our intention is to use the USDA PACE loan for all eligible projects. However, depending on which additional grants may be awarded, restrictions on “stacking” federal grants may require securing loans for partial funding through other sources to avoid exceeding the allowable federal funding limits. It is SED’s goal to accomplish these projects at the lowest cost to our ratepayers.
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