Customers of Vermont's largest electric utility could see their monthly bills go up to help pay the costs of recovering from Tropical Storm Irene. If approved, beginning on July 1, CVPS customers would see their bills increase by 1.4 percent.

The question of whether CVPS should rebate $21 million directly to ratepayers has become an issue involving the complex world of utility rate making and the relationship between the Legislature and the Public Service Board.

Many people at this year's Solarfest were talking about the proposed merger of Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power - especially the promise to make Rutland Vermont's first solar city. Earlier: CVPS Board Endorses Gaz Metro Bid For GMP

Shareholders of Central Vermont Public Service Corporation approved a proposed merger with GazMetro, the parent company of Green Mountain Power. VPR teamed up with the investigative website, VT Digger for a behind the scenes look at the deal.

Vermont Press Bureau Chief Peter Hirschfeld talks about what the potential merger between Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power means for ratepayers.

To former Vermont governor and commentator Jim Douglas, the proposed merger between Green Mountain Power and CVPS is another indicator that the partnership between Vermont and Quebec is growing stronger.

Utility executives and their allies are urging the Legislature not to tamper with a merger agreement between the state's two largest power companies.

Bureau Chief Peter Hirshfeld of the Vermont Press Bureau and VT Digger Reporter Alan Panebaker talk about the latest developments of the proposed CVPS/Green Mountain Power merger.

House Speaker Shap Smith discusses the top legislative issues, we hear an analysis of the latest developments of the proposed CVPS-Green Mountain Power merger and we listen back to the voices in the news this week.

We hear both sides of the debate over how CVPS should return $21 million to its ratepayers as part of its merger with Green Mountain Power and Congressman Peter Welch discusses campaign finance reform.

The advocacy group continues to advertise about Green Mountain Power's plan to take over and merge with Central Vermont Public Service. The group delivered petitions with the signatures of 15,000 customers of CVPS.

Vermont Law School is studying the roll-out of smart grid technology by Central Vermont Public Service and six other utilities around the country. The school says the adoption of the technology by the state's largest electric utility is going well.

Green Mountain Power is at the center several energy stories right now, and on Tuesday's program we discuss them with the company's CEO Mary Powell.

Green Mountain Power has responded to critics who say it isn't providing enough benefits to Central Vermont Public Service customers in the planned merger of the two companies. GMP says it will pay another $21 million toward customer energy efficiency.

A key Vermont lawmaker says he expects to offer an amendment on a budget bill that could put the state on a path toward majority ownership of the backbone of its electricity grid.

When someone suspects that an elderly or disabled person is being abused, the claim is supposed to be investigated quickly by the state. But a backlog of cases prompted a lawsuit this winter by Vermont Legal Aid.

AARP Vermont says customers helped rescue Central Vermont Public Service when it got into financial trouble more than a decade ago. So now that the company is healthy enough to be sold, AARP says those customers should get their money back.

Bob Young, the former head of Central Vermont Public Service, says the annual Gift of Life blood drive that CVPS co-sponsors has taken on a special significance to him. Young was recently diagnosed with Leukemia and blood and platelet donations have been critical in helping him fight the disease.

These were some of the voices in the news this week.

A state senator is calling for an independent counsel to review the sale of the state's largest utility to a Canadian company. Essex-Orleans Senator Vince Illuzzi says the Shumlin administration is biased in favor of the deal, so an independent review is needed to protect the public interest.

All but a handful of about 14,000 electric customers now have their power back, following a series of severe thunderstorms that rolled across Vermont Sunday.

The state's largest electric utility wants to use an insurance rebate from Vermont Yankee to fund a number of clean-energy projects around the state. CVPS says the insurance payments stem from when it was a part owner of the nuclear plant.  

The state's largest electric utility has completed its purchase of one of the smallest.

The proposed sale of Central Vermont Public Service to a Canadian firm has raised a few questions about high power electric transmission corridors through Vermont and neighboring states.

Where does the agreed-upon sale of CVPS to Gaz Metro go in the months ahead? We look at the approval process. Plus, VPR's John Dillon recaps our "UVM At A Crossroads" series. And, we visit the Museum of Everyday Life in Glover.