The Clean Heat Standard Is a Lawsuit Time Bomb—And You’re Paying for It

Vermonters are being set up, and many still don’t even realize it yet. The so-called Clean Heat Standard (CHS), a regulatory scheme disguised as an energy policy, is about to unleash unlimited fuel price hikes and open-ended lawsuits against the state. But the real kicker? The very politicians pushing this scheme will wash their hands of it when the bill comes due—because they wrote it that way.

At the center of this debacle is Representative Mike Mrowicki (D Windham-4) and his two-pronged attempt to trick Vermonters into accepting higher heating costs while making sure the government never takes the blame.

The CHS Price Cap Lie

Mrowicki’s H.216 bill claims to “cap” the cost of clean heat credits at $0.10 per gallon. This is a political gimmick, not an actual price cap.

The CHS operates like a carbon credit market, where fuel dealers must purchase and retire “Clean Heat Credits” to comply with emissions reduction targets. The problem? These credits are not government-controlled—they’re market-driven, meaning their price fluctuates based on demand.

The bill doesn’t actually stop credit prices from rising. Instead, it simply sets a limit on what the state will pay toward compliance. That’s a critical distinction because fuel dealers are still legally required to buy the credits, even if the price soars beyond the so-called $0.10 cap. And when that happens? They’ll pass every penny of those extra costs onto consumers.

So when your fuel bill jumps by $0.50 or even $1 per gallon down the road, don’t expect Mrowicki or his allies to admit the truth. They’ll claim they “capped” the cost. They’ll blame “greedy fuel companies.” They’ll pretend they didn’t see it coming.

And yet, Vermont’s own Public Utility Commission (PUC) has already admitted that fuel prices will rise far beyond $0.10 per gallon under this plan—predicting increases as high as $0.58 per gallon by 2035.

But here’s where it gets worse.

The Lawsuit Trap

Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), passed in 2020, makes the state legally required to meet specific greenhouse gas reduction targets. Not “encouraged” or “aiming for.” Legally required.

And what happens if the Clean Heat Standard fails to deliver those reductions? Anyone can sue the state (and already has).

That’s not an exaggeration. The GWSA allows private individuals, climate activists, and environmental groups to take Vermont to court if emissions goals aren’t met.

Now, let’s put two and two together:

The CHS’s so-called “price cap” ensures that Vermont won’t buy enough credits to meet its goals.
That failure puts the state out of compliance with the GWSA.
Lawsuits follow.
And once Vermont is in court, judges don’t get to change the law. They’ll mandate that credits be purchased at whatever price the market dictates.

At that point, the $0.10 cap evaporates entirely because the courts will force the state and fuel dealers to buy credits—no matter the cost.

And guess who’s left footing the bill? You.

Once the lawsuits start rolling in, Vermont has no choice but to comply. Fuel dealers will be ordered to purchase credits at market rates and will pass the costs straight to Vermonters who heat their homes with oil, propane, or natural gas.

At this point, the entire price control argument collapses because it was never real to begin with. It was a mirage—a politically convenient talking point meant to hide the long-term consequences of the Clean Heat Standard until it’s too late to stop it.

And just in case you thought the deception ended there, Mrowicki has one more trick up his sleeve.

The “Make It Look Affordable” Bill

Mrowicki’s H.226 is the legislative equivalent of asking a hired gun to “prove” that a scam is actually a good deal.

Instead of questioning whether the CHS is viable, H.226 seeks to manufacture a consultant-driven report that will claim the program is cheaper than fossil fuels.

This isn’t a study—it’s a pre-planned public relations stunt. The outcome has already been decided:

Ignore compliance costs? Check.
Cherry-pick data? Check.
Pretend subsidies make everything “free”? Check.

Once this “study” is complete, it will be waved around as evidence that Vermont’s fuel prices aren’t actually going up—even as working families watch their heating bills climb year after year.

It’s not a serious policy analysis. It’s a propaganda campaign, funded by your tax dollars, to justify policies that will make your life harder.

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The Real Solution: Repeal the GWSA & Stop the CHS

Mrowicki and his allies are counting on one thing: That you won’t figure this out until it’s too late.

By the time the lawsuits start, by the time the price hikes hit, by the time Vermonters realize they’ve been boxed into a court-enforced carbon tax with no way out, the politicians who pushed this will have already moved on to the next manufactured crisis.

The only way to stop this scam is to pull it out at the roots.

Repeal the Global Warming Solutions Act. This is the law that enables climate lawsuits that force unlimited spending. Without it, the lawsuit trap collapses.
Block the Clean Heat Standard. This isn’t climate policy—it’s an open-ended financial obligation with no price limits.
Call out the H.226 “study” for what it is—state-sponsored deception. You don’t need a consultant to tell you what happens when government mandates drive up costs.

Vermonters Deserve the Truth

This was never about controlling costs.
This was never about lowering fuel prices.
This was never about protecting Vermont’s working families.

It was always about legislating a crisis, shifting blame when prices rise, and making sure the courts—not politicians—take the fall when the financial pain sets in.

The truth is simple: If the Clean Heat Standard fails, Vermonters pay. If it succeeds, Vermonters pay. As the lawsuits come, Vermonters pay.

No matter what, you lose.

Unless, of course, you stop it now.

Dave Soulia | FYIVT

#fyivt #VermontPolitics #EnergyScam #StopCHS

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