The nearly $69 million dollar stimulus award Vermont utilities received from the federal Department of Energy (DoE) this week will have a much greater and long lasting effect on the Green Mountain State than hundreds of millions of dollars in stimulus band aids that we are also receiving.

When the supplemental Medicaid and educations dollars are gone, we will have bought some much-needed time but still have a huge budget hole to fill. When the utilities finish building a smart grid statewide in the next few years, Vermont will have a stronger economy, a better job market, a cleaner environment, better broadband, a lower cost of living, and a stronger tax base to support the cost of government services with lower tax rates than would otherwise be possible. Almost sounds to be too good to be true but it isn’t – assuming we do a good job with this money and the additional $69 million of investor and ratepayer money with which the utilities will match the grant.