Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc. Rate Selection Guide
Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is a member-owned utility serving roughly 33,000 members across 40,726 meters in Northern Vermont, with AMI deployed since 2005 and a next-generation Itron AMI rollout underway. C&I customers access hourly usage and 14 months of billing history through the NISC SmartHub portal with Green Button Download My Data XML export, but VEC offers no third-party API, Connect My Data, or EDI programs.
Market Overview
Member-owned cooperative in Vermont's fully regulated retail market. The Vermont Public Utility Commission oversees VEC tariffs; members have no competitive supplier choice. Members own their data per VEC's privacy policy.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc. Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
VEC's rates (Vermont PUC No. 15 tariff, rate summary effective March 1, 2025 following a PUC-approved 4.84% increase for 2025) are organized into Residential (Rate 1), General Service (Rate 2), and Industrial (Rate 3) classes. The defining commercial feature is the 15,000 kWh/month threshold: accounts exceeding it for two consecutive months move from non-demand billing (~$0.205/kWh) to demand billing ($0.11732/kWh plus a steep $27.02/kW demand charge with an 80% eleven-month ratchet). TOU variants and time-of-day pilots are available across classes.
Effective: March 1, 2025 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Service — Rate 2 (Non-Demand) | commercial | Non-residential members under 500 kW and below 15,000 kWh/month | Customer charge $23.62/meter/month; all kWh at $0.20497; farm/residential credit of ($9.18) where applicable. Two consecutive months above 15,000 kWh moves the account to demand billing | $0.20497/kWh |
| General Service — Rate 2 (Demand) | commercial | Non-residential members at or above 15,000 kWh/month (under 500 kW) | Customer charge $39.40/meter/month; energy $0.11732/kWh; demand $27.02/kW based on the highest 15-minute interval, with billing demand never less than 80% of the highest demand in the preceding eleven months (ratchet) | $0.11732/kWh energy+ $27.02/kW with 80% eleven-month ratchet |
| General Service Time-of-Use — Rate 2.1 | commercial | Optional TOU for general service accounts, non-demand and demand variants | Non-demand: on-peak $0.22689/kWh, off-peak $0.15548/kWh, customer charge $30.44. Demand billing: all kWh $0.11732, on-peak demand $31.49/kW, off-peak demand $22.74/kW, customer charge $60.82 | —+ $31.49/kW on-peak, $22.74/kW off-peak (demand variant) |
| Industrial — Rate 3 | industrial | Large industrial members taking distribution or subtransmission service; firm and interruptible options | Service charge $300.89/month. Distribution: $0.11640/kWh with firm demand $25.73/kW or interruptible demand $21.13/kW. Subtransmission: firm $0.11615/kWh and $15.58/kW, interruptible $0.10857/kWh and $10.97/kW | $0.109-0.116/kWh+ $10.97-$25.73/kW depending on voltage and firm vs. interruptible |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Small business near the 15,000 kWh demand threshold
Ski-area support businesses, lodging, retail, and farms in Northern Vermont whose monthly usage hovers around 15,000 kWh face VEC's most consequential rate boundary.
Two consecutive months above 15,000 kWh triggers demand billing with a $27.02/kW charge and an 80% eleven-month ratchet — a single uncontrolled winter peak then sets a demand floor for nearly a year. Conversely, high-usage flat-load accounts can actually save under demand billing because energy drops from $0.205 to $0.117/kWh.
- Model both billing modes with 12 months of SmartHub hourly data before crossing the threshold
- If on demand billing, manage every month's 15-minute peak — the 80% ratchet makes one bad month expensive for eleven more
- Document permanent load reductions over 20% — the tariff allows negotiating the 80% ratchet threshold down after DSM measures
Demand-billed commercial facility (grocery, lodging, light manufacturing)
Facilities firmly above 15,000 kWh/month on Rate 2 demand billing, where the $27.02/kW charge often rivals the energy bill.
At $27.02/kW, a 100 kW peak costs $2,702/month before a single kWh. The TOU demand variant splits demand into $31.49/kW on-peak and $22.74/kW off-peak — attractive for loads that can keep peaks outside on-peak windows.
- Stagger compressor, HVAC, and snowmaking-adjacent equipment starts to control 15-minute peaks
- Evaluate TOU Rate 2.1: shifting peak demand off-peak saves ~$8.75/kW versus on-peak
- Use VEC's SmartHub hourly interval data to verify exactly which interval set the billed demand
Industrial load with curtailable processes
Manufacturers and processors on Rate 3 with the ability to interrupt load on VEC request.
Interruptible demand pricing saves $4.60/kW at distribution voltage ($21.13 vs. $25.73) and $4.61/kW at subtransmission ($10.97 vs. $15.58), and subtransmission service itself cuts the demand rate roughly 40% versus distribution — worth evaluating service voltage and curtailment capability together.
- Quantify how much load can be reliably interrupted before electing interruptible demand
- Compare distribution vs. subtransmission delivery economics if your facility can take higher-voltage service
- Maintain power factor at or above 95% lagging — the tariff lets VEC require corrective equipment at your expense
Electrifying fleet or heat-pump-heavy facility
Organizations adding EV charging or cold-climate heat pumps in VEC territory, where Vermont's electrification incentives meet TOU rate options.
TOU pricing rewards overnight charging (off-peak $0.15548 vs. on-peak $0.22689/kWh on non-demand TOU), and managed charging keeps new load from setting demand peaks. VEC also runs flexible load programs and time-of-day pilots worth checking before committing.
- Schedule EV charging off-peak and below the facility's existing peak demand
- Ask VEC about flexible load and time-of-day pilot enrollment before finalizing rate election
- Watch winter morning peaks when heat pumps and plug loads coincide — that interval usually sets billed demand
Cost Optimization Strategies
VEC's rate design makes demand management the dominant cost lever: a $27.02/kW general-service demand charge with an 80% eleven-month ratchet means peak control compounds across the year. Energy-side savings come from TOU arbitrage and Vermont's deep efficiency ecosystem (Efficiency Vermont operates statewide).
Peak demand control against the ratchet
For: Rate 2 demand and Rate 3 customers
Billing demand is the highest 15-minute interval and never less than 80% of the highest demand in the prior eleven months. Avoiding even one excursion saves $27.02/kW in the month it occurs plus up to 80% of that amount in each of the following eleven months.
Threshold management at 15,000 kWh
For: General Service accounts between ~12,000 and 20,000 kWh/month
Accounts near the demand-billing trigger should either stay clearly below it or embrace demand billing deliberately. High-load-factor accounts can save under demand billing ($0.117 vs. $0.205/kWh energy); peaky accounts should trim usage to avoid two consecutive trigger months.
TOU load shifting
For: Rate 2.1 TOU customers and electrification loads
On non-demand TOU the on/off-peak spread is ~7.1¢/kWh; on demand TOU, off-peak demand prices $8.75/kW below on-peak. Shifting refrigeration defrost, water heating, charging, and batch loads off-peak captures both spreads.
Efficiency Vermont incentives
For: All C&I members
Vermont's statewide efficiency utility offers C&I rebates for lighting, refrigeration, compressed air, motors/VFDs, and custom projects. Pairing measures with VEC's high $0.12-0.21/kWh energy rates produces some of the fastest paybacks in the country.
DSM-based ratchet renegotiation
For: Demand-billed customers completing major efficiency projects
VEC's tariff explicitly allows customers who document permanent load reductions greater than 20% through demand-side management to negotiate the 80% billing-demand ratchet down to match the new peak — locking in demand savings immediately rather than waiting eleven months.
Interruptible and voltage optimization (industrial)
For: Industrial Rate 3 members
Rate 3 customers can cut demand charges $4.60/kW by electing interruptible service and roughly 40% more by taking subtransmission delivery where feasible. Combined, subtransmission interruptible demand ($10.97/kW) is less than half the distribution firm rate ($25.73/kW).
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc. interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do C&I customers export usage data from Vermont Electric Cooperative?▾
Log into SmartHub at vermontelectric.smarthub.coop, open the My Usage tab, and use the Green Button Download My Data link. Select up to 14 months and download a .zip containing ESPI-standard XML with hourly usage, billing periods, and meter information — ready for import into energy management software or programmatic parsing.
What interval granularity does VEC provide?▾
Hourly. SmartHub displays monthly, daily, and hourly consumption, and Green Button exports carry hourly readings. Older portal versions offered 15-minute CSVs, but that resolution is currently unavailable. VEC's next-generation Itron AMI system (deployed from October 2024) may restore 15-minute data — worth re-checking after acceptance testing.
Can an aggregator or consultant pull VEC data automatically?▾
Not through any supported channel. VEC offers no API, OAuth authorization, Connect My Data, or aggregator partnerships. The reliable paths are customer-downloaded Green Button XML files or manual requests to Member Services with written authorization (5-10 business days). Community SmartHub scrapers exist on GitHub but are unofficial and may violate NISC terms of service.
Does VEC support EDI for business data exchange?▾
No. VEC documents no EDI transactions (814, 820, 867, 810), no ANSI X12 support, and no trading partner enrollment. Internal systems use SCADA and ICCP feeds to VELCO, neither of which serves retail customer data. EDI needs should go through Member Services as a custom inquiry.
What public data does VEC publish for energy project developers?▾
VEC's Grid Data and Mapping platform is open to the public with distributed generation hosting capacity, substation and feeder locations, circuit-level electrification adoption, and outage history (2020-2024). It supports DG site selection and circuit analysis, though it contains no customer-level data and no API.
What does Nectar's roadmap support level mean for VEC accounts?▾
VEC is on Nectar's roadmap: automated ingestion is planned but not yet productized. Today, Nectar works with VEC data through customer-exported Green Button XML files from SmartHub or LOA-based manual requests while native support and the new Itron AMI capabilities mature.
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