Headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, VELCO employees strive to give Vermont's utilities and their customers a reliable high-voltage grid, a strong unified voice on regional energy issues, and continued access to safe, reliable, and cost-effective electricity. 

Vermont Electric Transmission Company (VETCO) is a wholly owned subsidiary of VELCO that was organized for the purpose of constructing and operating the Vermont portion of the Phase I Quebec-New England HVDC Interconnection, a high-voltage direct current transmission line transmitting power from Canada to Vermont and other New England states. The creation and ownership of VETCO was authorized by the Vermont Public Utility Commission in 1982. 

ISO-New England was created to oversee the reliable operation of the electricity grid and ensure fair market practices in the New England region. Established in 1997, it functions as an independent system operator, managing the transmission of electricity and fostering a competitive marketplace for electricity generation and distribution.

The 2003 Northeast blackout was a widespread power outage that affected parts of the northeastern United States and Canada on August 14, 2003. The blackout, one of the largest in history, left approximately 50 million people without electricity for several hours. It was triggered by a series of cascading failures in the electricity grid, highlighting vulnerabilities in the system and prompting efforts to improve its reliability and resilience.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted planning authority to ISO-New England to oversee the regional transmission planning process. This delegation of responsibilities empowers ISO-New England to develop and implement comprehensive plans for the expansion and enhancement of the electricity transmission system in the New England region, ensuring its reliability and efficiency.

In 2006, VELCO and Vermont's electric distribution companies formed Vermont Transco LLC, a limited liability corporation. Vermont Transco owns Vermont's high voltage electric transmission system (115 kV and above) and provides service under applicable tariffs to: 1) Vermont's 17 electric distribution utilities, 2) two small distribution utility loads in New Hampshire, and 3) Loads throughout New England through ISO-New England. 

VELCO manages the Vermont Transco LLC system, and in that capacity, operates and maintains Vermont's electric transmission system, as it has for more than 60 years. 

The Vermont System Planning Committee is a collaborative process, established in 2007, for addressing electric grid reliability planning. Its purpose is to ensure all options to solve grid reliability issues get full, fair and timely consideration, and the most cost effective solution gets chosen.