Burlington prepares for increased electricity use from electric cars, heat pumps, and more

As more electric vehicles hit the road and more houses convert to electric heat pumps in Burlington, the city is preparing its electrical lines. For the past several years, Burlington Electric Department has been replacing its old wires with new lines that have a larger conductor size for handling increased electrical loads.

"We are selecting areas of the city where the load is anticipated to increase, and increasing our wire size so we can meet that demand," said Burlington Electric Department line worker Ciaran Canavan.

Canavan said this process will continue over the next couple of years. The department just finished upgrading the lines from South Winooski Avenue and Main Street down to Battery Street. Next, they will work their way up from South Winooski Avenue to the area near the University of Vermont Medical Center. Upgrades are happening both out on the street and in residents' homes.

"As people use more electricity in their homes and less fossil fuels like oil and natural gas, we are having to upgrade those services to their homes," Canavan said. "I'd say at least half a dozen homes a week, we get calls to disconnect our service to them while they hire an electrician to come in and upgrade their service, usually from 100 to 200 amps to accommodate their car charger or their heat pump."

Canavan said these upgrades are part of Burlington Electric's "Net Zero Energy" plan to eliminate the city's dependence on fossil fuels for heating and ground transportation by 2030. The goal is to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions, as well as promote the local economy with jobs in the electricity sector.

To meet this "net zero" goal, Burlington Electric is providing rebates on heat pumps, electric vehicles, electric lawnmowers, and more. For more details on these rebates, see: https://www.burlingtonelectric.com/2023rebates/

In 2022, about 1% of all Vermont vehicles — 6,585 vehicles total — were registered as electric vehicles, according to the University of Vermont. Burlington has over 20 electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city, according to a map by Burlington Electric.

Contact April Fisher at amfisher@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AMFisherMedia