Consumer Liaison Group meeting explores resilience after extreme weather

The first 2026 meeting of the Consumer Liaison Group (CLG) focused on resiliency in light of changing climate and weather patterns, and how innovation in grid infrastructure might mitigate long-term impacts.

A video recording and summary of the March 25 event, held in Randolph, Vermont, are available online.

The meeting began with opening remarks from Julie Macuga, a researcher with Global Energy Monitor and a CLG Coordinating Committee member from Vermont. For the community welcome, Shawna Trader, a community organizer with Rainbow Bridge Community Center, reflected on Vermont’s catastrophic flooding in 2023 and 2024.

Eric Johnson, executive director of External Affairs at ISO-NE, provided a regional grid update, covering markets, operations, and planning, also highlighting information resources available for the CLG.

Ben Edgerly Walsh, climate and energy program director at the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), delivered keynote remarks. He discussed how his organization has built influence by organizing Vermonters around climate and energy issues for nearly four decades. He took questions from the audience about portable solar power systems and data centers.

A panel discussion followed. Dave Westman, director of regulatory and state agency affairs at VEIC/Efficiency Vermont, discussed the organization’s response to flooding events. Al McBride, vice president of System Planning at ISO New England, described and took audience questions about the ISO’s Capacity Auction Reforms key project.

The next CLG meeting will be held June 2 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Details will be announced soon.

For the latest information on the meetings and to view past presentations, visit the Consumer Liaison Group webpage.