HB759

Dear Chairperson and Members of the House Science, Technology & Energy Committee, My name is Nicholas Gosling, and I am a resident of Bristol, New Hampshire. I am writing in strong support of HB 759, which will expand opportunities for community energy generation and empower municipalities to develop local renewable projects. Right now, regulatory barriers limit the ability of towns and businesses to invest in local power solutions. HB 759 removes these obstacles by allowing Community Power Aggregations (CPAs) and Competitive Electric Power Suppliers to contract directly with net-metered generators, fostering a more competitive and consumer-friendly energy market. This bill will: - **Lower costs** by enabling communities to access locally generated power at competitive rates. - **Boost local control** by giving towns and businesses more options for securing their energy needs. - **Encourage energy independence** by reducing reliance on out-of-state power sources. HB 759 is a win for competition, consumers, and communities across New Hampshire. I urge the committee to support this bill and vote **Ought to Pass**. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Nicholas Gosling Bristol, NH nicholas.gosling@gmail.com

Community generators would help enable the further development of community-based renewable energy systems. Community members would benefit from lower electric members, including town/city wide energy, therefore tax, savings.

I believe this bill helps enable the development of community-based renewable energy systems, which would decrease the electric bills of every member of a community aggregation, instead of just a few select customers.

For an elected position, voters should decide.

I support this bill because community energy is a win for everyone. It makes perfect financial sense as it will pay for itself and then pay everyone else. . Please do the right thing here and pass this bill. Thank you.

Citizens who invest in generating renewable power for the benefit of all should at least be able to offset the not inconsiderable costs by selling any excess power they generate. They should also (according to our state's own law) be able to buy power from who they chose in a fair competitive market. Right now they cannot do both of these things and must either buy power from the utility distribution monopoly, who are also the only way that they can export their excess power, or buy power from any other provider and have to "donate" their exported power to the utility. That's not right; it's an abuse of the utility's monopolistic position in distribution to make make power provider competitors economically untenable for consumer-producers. It also discourages adoption of renewable energy. Accordingly, I strongly support this bill

All last year, I planned to install a solar array on my property which finally happened in December and I'm now proud to be contributing to our state's power needs and reducing our carbon emissions at the same time. As it happens my town created and adopted a community power coalition in October with auto-enrollment. It was not till I saw my first bill from NHEC that I found I was not being credited for the power which I exported to the grid. At which point I researched and found that my power provider (CPC) is unable to credit me my exported power for a number of reasons, the foremost of which this bill would address. Since then, I've tried to follow the money to figure out who is getting paid for the power I generate from my investment and still have a grey answer after being run around by both utility and power provider. This is unfair. In fact, it feels like theft - someone is taking the power I produce and effectively selling it (via net load reduction), and I cannot get at that compensation unless I buy the utility's default power. So the impact of the current situation is that a consumer generator cannot afford to buy power from a competitive provider and so must buy from the utility. This is not right. It's anti-competitive. It disincentives the adoption of consumer renewable energy. I strongly support this bill as one of the steps needed to level the playing field and help us drive towards lower cost and greener power for all in the state.

Dear Members of NH House Science, Technology & Energy Committee, I am writing to express my support for bill HB 759-FN. The bill attempts to enhance NH’s local energy market. Current laws and retail market limitations—such as flaws in load settlement practices—prevent local power producers from properly accounting for their generation as a reduction in their supplier’s wholesale load obligations. HB 759 introduces true competition for net-metered distributed energy, ensuring cost reductions without shifting expenses to the broader utility customer base. The benefits of bill HB 759 in my option would be: *Lower Costs: Enabling competitors to have access to the same price signals and tools as the utilities will allow more NH homes, businesses, and communities to benefit from lowered energy costs by leveraging local distributed energy. *Bolsters Customer Choice: Consumers know best how to spend their own money. By unlocking price signals, consumers will be able to make informed choices that meet their energy and budgetary needs. * Expand Market Competition: HB 759 expands market competition. It will provide competitors such as Community Power and Competitive Suppliers with the right incentives to compete to provide the most innovative and cost-effective energy solutions to customers on a voluntary basis. Thank you for your time and your attention to this matter! Sincerely yours, Annette Dey, P.E. Resident of Walpole, NH

I support this bill because it will lower costs, increase customer choice and bolster market competition.

It's important to define what is meant by 'community generators', This bill helps enable the development of community-based renewable energy systems, which would decrease the electric bills of every member of a community aggregation, instead of just a few select customers.

This bill helps enable the development of community-based renewable energy systems, which would decrease the electric bills of every member of a community aggregation, instead of just a few select customers.

Generating Energy Locally is the foundation for strengthening the electrical grid not only in NH but across ISO New England. Simply put: The further energy has to travel before it reaches its customers the higher the cost to those customers!

Please support HB 759 which enhances NH's local energy market building on previous legislative efforts. This bill would expand market competition. It allows community power aggregations to directly contract with net metered power generators within the same utility territory.

Please vote in favor of HB 755, HB 759, and HB 761, each of which is a component of the NH Energy Forward Act. Renewable energy, energy storage, and local energy projects will not just lower costs for municipalities and their ratepayers, they will also make NH more resilient, sustainable, and energy independent--and they will foster innovation. Please also vote to pass HB 760 to protect the integrity of our state's competitive energy market--ensuring that policies do not unfairly disadvantage the Community Power programs that are helping a growing number of NH ratepayers gain greater control over their energy costs and greater resilience against energy market spikes. In some case, these programs also establish reserve funds that will support community-based renewable energy projects and/or manage risk for ratepayers. Thank you.

Dear Chair and Members of the Committee, My name is Zeke Schmois, and I am a resident of Kensington, NH. I strongly support HB 759, which provides clarity and structure for community energy generators in our state. As someone who has fully electrified my home and vehicles, I am deeply concerned with rising electricity costs and the need for more local, resilient energy solutions. This bill ensures that small-scale renewable energy producers can better serve municipal and county aggregations, allowing for more affordable and stable energy prices. By enabling local energy generation to offset load obligations, HB 759 helps reduce dependence on expensive utility default service while encouraging competition and consumer choice. Moreover, empowering community energy generators strengthens New Hampshire’s energy independence and supports local economic development. Allowing these generators to work directly with municipal aggregations will lead to greater investment in renewable infrastructure and increased cost savings for residents and businesses alike. For these reasons, I urge the committee to vote in favor of HB 759. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Zeke Schmois 133 Amesbury Rd, Kensington, NH

Dear Science, Technology, and Energy Committee Members. I would like to express my support for HB 759 which would help enable the development of community based renewable energy systems- an important step forwar in meeting our state's future energy needs. Sincerely John Walsh New London, NH

We need the development of community based energy generators; this bill creates the first step. I strongly support this bill.

Because this bill defines community generators, the bill will enable the development of community-based renewable energy systems, which would decrease the electric bills of every member of a community aggregation, instead of just a few select customers. Please SUPPORT.

We need to help make energy more affordable for all consumers in the community aggregate program. Please support this bill. Rebecca MacKenzie, Claremont, NH

Please support HB759 relative to community energy generators. I have a solar array on my own house and cannot participate in choosing a 3rd party supplier without losing my net metered credits. These 3rd party suppliers, like Community Power Coalition of NH (which my town participates in) need to be able to contract with me directly to provide me with credits for exported solar energy. It is very frustrating for those who haven't been able to choose Community Power (or any 3rd party supplier) because they adopted solar on their own property.

I support this critical bill because it is essential to prevent the PUC from allowing the competitive energy marketplace to be undermined. Allowing utilities to breach the divide between Supply and Delivery charges would allow utilities to under-charge for energy in ways that the alternate energy suppliers cannot do. Allowing underbilling to be "socialized" by shifting Supply costs to Stranded Cost Recovery Charges would mean that those purchasing energy from alternate energy suppliers would be subsidizing those who purchase the utility default.

I am writing to express my support for House Bill 759-FN, which establishes a regulatory framework for community generators and ensures that their contributions to the energy grid are properly accounted for in load settlement. This bill is an important step toward modernizing New Hampshire’s energy market, reducing reliance on centralized generation, and empowering local energy producers. A critical component of HB 759-FN is its provision for proper load settlement and compensation mechanisms for community generators. By allowing distributed energy resources to offset the load obligations of municipal or county aggregations and competitive electricity suppliers, the bill ensures that: -Energy is accurately accounted for at the wholesale level, reducing inefficiencies and enabling fair valuation of locally produced electricity. -Avoided generation capacity value is properly recognized, ensuring that community-generated power is treated as a true supply resource rather than an administrative offset. -Suppliers receive appropriate reductions in their wholesale energy obligations, creating a market structure that rewards local energy production and ensures cost fairness for all participants. By ensuring that community-generated energy is fully incorporated into load settlement processes, HB 759-FN helps prevent cost-shifting onto other ratepayers while incentivizing fair competition between centralized and distributed generation. Additionally, this bill enhances grid efficiency, reduces transmission losses, and strengthens local energy resilience, all while supporting renewable energy development within the state. I urge you and your colleagues to support HB 759-FN and ensure that New Hampshire's energy policies encourage fair market participation, accurate load accounting, and equitable compensation for community energy generation.

This bill is good for NH consumers!

I am now retired and have lived in New Hampshire since 2001, and watched my property taxes as well as the costs of electricity and oil climb steadily. I strongly urge you to support HB759.