The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission has approved a request from Eversource, the state’s largest electricity provider, that will allow the company to raise fees and change how it will calculate yearly rate increase requests through 2029.
The company will raise its residential customer charge — the flat fee all customers pay regardless of energy usage — by $6 per household, from $13.81 to $19.81. The utility was already approved by the Public Utilities Commission to raise its supply rates on August 1, with the average consumer expected to pay around an extra $14 monthly.
Consumer advocates said the increases will fall disproportionately on the backs of Eversource’s residential customers.
“We are appalled by the Public Utility Commission's decision,” said Christina FitzPatrick, director of New Hampshire’s AARP chapter.
FitzPatrick said older residents, many of whom live on a fixed income, will be particularly squeezed by these increased bills.
In addition, the Public Utilities Commission approved a new ratemaking process for Eversource. The company will switch to a performance-based system process through 2029, which critics say will lessen regulatory oversight and make rate increases “automatic.”
FitzPatrick said that traditionally, utilities like Eversource have to present a detailed case each year to regulators to justify their requested increases. But the performance-based system instead essentially greenlights increases calculated by approved formulas.
“While in theory that sounds good . . .it means that the Public Utility Commission is cut out,” FitzPatrick said.
Representatives from Eversource said they are still determining the exact impact the new rate setting system will have on customer bills, but the company highlighted existing resources to help people pay their energy bill.
“With increased summer usage coinciding with upcoming August rate changes, we’ve been making every effort to prepare customers for higher bills and to encourage them to take advantage of the various options available to help manage their energy bill — including financial assistance, flexible payment plans and energy efficiency programs,” Eversource spokesperson William Hinkle wrote in an email to NHPR.
But the AARP says that since things like cutting usage will do little to reduce the burden of flat rates, such as the residential customer charge, which will increase $2 each year through 2029. By the end of the decade, this could make that fee among the highest in the country.
Other providers across New Hampshire, such as Unitil, the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, are also raising rates on August 1. Utilities typically adjust their rates twice a year, in August and February. This week’s adjustment comes at the height of summer, when New Hampshire consumers typically use about 20% more energy cooling their homes.
More information on resources to help energy customers pay their bills can be found here.
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