Vermont’s state government is failing to meet its longstanding energy reduction goals, according to a recent audit by State Auditor Doug Hoffer. The Department of Buildings and General Services, which oversees the State Energy Management Program, has not been measuring the state’s progress despite a legal requirement to report on it every two years.
The audit reveals systemic failures in how the state tracks and manages energy use across its buildings and operations—shortcomings that have cost taxpayers money and prevented the state from meeting environmental and cost-reduction targets that have guided state policy since 1992.
Failed Tracking, Staffing Gaps Undermine Vermont’s Energy Efficiency Push
The Department of Buildings and General Services lacks fundamental systems to track how much energy the state consumes or how much taxpayer money it actually saves on efficiency projects. According to Hoffer’s audit, the department cannot quantify transportation fuel used by state employees and has no consistent way to measure total energy use across all state-leased buildings.
The absence of measurement creates a cascading accountability failure. Despite a legal requirement to report progress every two years, the department has not produced these required reports. This measurement gap has concrete consequences: Hoffer’s audit found two lighting-efficiency projects that actually cost taxpayers money instead of saving it—a direct financial loss on investments supposedly designed to reduce both environmental impact and public expenses.
Two Projects Show the Scale of Miscalculation
A lighting upgrade at the Barre Courthouse became a financial loss when evaluated against its projected savings. Efficiency Vermont, the organization that contracts with the state to reduce energy use and cost, calculated the project would cost $143,170 more than its lifetime savings. The department’s own internal estimates were slightly less negative—showing a $72,749 loss—but both numbers represent public money spent with no return.
The problem was not isolated. At the state office building at 133 State Street in Montpelier, another lighting project will cost $550,687 more than its expected lifetime savings. When the auditor’s office compared Efficiency Vermont’s estimates of lifetime savings for 13 projects against the department’s calculations, the department’s figures exceeded reality by more than $1.666 million.
Fewer Projects, Fewer Completions
The program’s output has declined sharply. Once completing around five projects annually, the State Energy Management Program has slowed to just one or two over the last three fiscal years. Behind this slowdown lies staffing shortages: one or both of the energy project manager positions have been vacant since 2021.
The shortage appears even more consequential given the scale of available work. Since 2016, audits have identified more than 50 potential energy efficiency projects across state buildings. The department has completed only 15 of them.
Path Forward
Hoffer’s recommendations included four specific steps: the department should adhere to its required reporting schedule, develop a system for tracking energy use across buildings, scale up the number of projects it undertakes, and increase coordination with Efficiency Vermont.
Wanda Minoli, commissioner of the Department of Buildings and General Services, agreed with nearly all of the auditor’s findings and provided a timeline for implementing the recommendations in her response letter.
The audit signals a broader pattern: government agencies tasked with reducing costs and environmental impact have sometimes lacked the basic measurement infrastructure and staffing needed to verify whether they are succeeding.