5/4/2023 0 Comments Electric power utility herndonThe coalition led a grassroots effort to oppose the legislation, which, through a negotiated process, was eventually heavily amended to protect local authority over power purchases.ĭonald Kreis, the state consumer advocate, said he is optimistic that the community power option will deliver some benefits from deregulation to residential ratepayers, something that has yet to happen since the state passed legislation in 1996 requiring the utilities to sell off their generation assets. The legislation effectively “gutted” the community power law, rendering the entire concept unworkable, he said. Progress toward getting community power aggregations up and running was derailed last year by legislation introduced at the request of Eversource, Herndon said. “Community power aggregations represent a ready means to break the regulated utilities’ monopoly over the provision of default supply,” coalition vice chair Clifton Below, a Lebanon city councilor, said in the filing. The full membership represents about 20% of New Hampshire’s population more than two dozen other municipalities are interested in joining, according to comments filed by the coalition in the PUC’s rule-making docket. The coalition’s other member communities, in addition to Dover, are Durham, Newmarket, Nashua, Warner, Pembroke, Hudson, Webster, New London, and Portsmouth. Utility customers in those communities will be automatically enrolled in the power programs but will be able to opt out if they choose. Lebanon, Hanover, Harrisville, Exeter, Rye, Walpole, Enfield and Plainfield all hope to launch their initial power programs in spring 2023, he said. Of the Community Power Coalition’s 18 member municipalities, eight have locally approved aggregation plans ready for submission to the PUC, Herndon said. “It’s crucial to us being able to have our aggregation plans approved, so we can actually launch on our target date in 2024.” “We are excited to see some progress,” said Jackson Kaspari, resilience coordinator for the town of Dover, a member of the coalition. ![]() The commission has 60 days to deem a plan non-compliant if no action is taken, the plan is automatically approved, Herndon said. Once the rules are finalized, municipalities will be able to submit their aggregation plans to the PUC. The distribution companies will continue to deliver the electricity and handle billing.Īfter the state’s Public Utilities Commission releases its rules proposal, which has been in the works since January, it will go to the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules for approval. And they can choose where their power comes from, which can help those municipalities that have set decarbonization goals. They will be able to actively manage their power portfolios, making it easier for them to deliver lower rates to customers, Herndon said. New Hampshire’s community power law, signed into law in 2019, authorizes municipalities to procure power on their own, using the collective buying power of all of their residents and businesses to secure competitive prices. “The spikes are a direct result of the distribution companies’ regulated procurement process, which requires them to go to market now, which just so happens to be the exact peak of the market.” “The rate spikes we are seeing are the perfect example of why community power is a good option for towns to lower energy costs for their customers,” said Henry Herndon, a consultant working with the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire. The announcement comes as at least one of the state’s major utilities, Liberty, is seeking to double the per-kilowatt-hour price it charges ratepayers, citing rising generation costs at natural gas-fired plants. New Hampshire regulators are expected to propose final rules for community power programs on July 5, a crucial milestone for the 18 communities and one county hoping to begin buying electric power on their own.
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