Hearing Transcript from the January 8, 2018, Public Hearing in Monkton, VT │Vermont Gas Systems, Inc. Proposal to Construct a Pressure-Regulation Station
The December 14, 2017, report to the Vermont Legislature - Progress on "Increasing Ease of Citizen Participation in Public Utility Commission Proceedings"
This report summarizes the steps taken to make it easier for citizens to participate in the processes of the Vermont Public Utility Commission (Commission). It comes in response to Act 53 of 2017, which required a report to the Vermont Legislature by December 15, 2017, on progress made in implementing the recommendations of the “Access to Public Service Board Working Group,” which had been created by Act 174 of 2016 to review the quality of citizen participation in Public Service Board (now Commission) proceedings.
In 2016, Vermont’s Act 174 Working Group asked the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC) to find ways to incorporate facilitation and mediation into its processes in order to promote increased ease of public participation. The PUC in turn asked the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP) to recommend an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system that could be used in PUC cases. This report presents the HNMCP's findings and recommendations.