InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/series/power-to-the-people/page/13)
D. Maurice KreisPower to the People is a new column by D. Maurice Kreis, New Hampshire’s Consumer Advocate. Kreis and his staff of four represent the interests of residential utility customers before the NH Public Utilities Commission and elsewhere.
NEPOOL even features free food; there is always a lavish and tasty lunchtime buffet at all-day NEPOOL meetings. Except the food isn’t free; ultimately, it is paid for by the region’s electric customers.
News that these two utilities will institute rate proceedings this spring was not a surprise, but it is still a big deal.
Who isn’t wild about ratepayer-funded energy efficiency?
It knows if you’ve been bad or good (e.g., whether you’ve been using a big light array to grow marijuana in the basement).
Moxie would be necessary for teenagers to participate meaningfully in PUC proceedings.
New Hampshire is currently ranked a dismal 21st when it comes to energy efficiency – last in the northeast.
Last session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 365, which requires the state’s electric utilities to buy 100 percent of the output of seven wood-burning power plants.
Will participating customers succeed in saving money? We don’t know.
Travis Kavulla, an outspoken utility commissioner from Montana, put it succinctly the other day on Twitter. “Rate base is a hell of a drug,” he tweeted.
Should you be afraid for your wallet?