New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
Conducting Energy Efficiency Study
Starting today and lasting for several weeks, electric and natural gas utility customers in New Hampshire may be contacted concerning a study the Commission is conducting that will assess the energy efficiency potential in New Hampshire. The results of the study will help guide future energy efficiency program and policy decisions. The Commission has hired an independent consulting team, GDS Associates and RLW Analytics, Inc., to conduct the study. They will be contacting a randomly selected sample of customers, starting with large commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, to participate in the study. The sample will also include small C&I customers and residential customers.
The large C&I study will involve a 15-20 minute in person interview followed by a walk through of the facilty in order to collect information on various electric and fossil fuel using equipment. The surveys of small C&I customers and residential customers will be conducted over the phone. All customer information gathered will be confidential. Only aggregate data will be used in the report which is expected to be issued at the end of the summer.
This study is important to the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, the sponsoring electric gas and electric companies, and all New Hampshire energy using customers. If contacted, we urge you to participate in the study.
If you have any questions or concerns about this study, please contact Tom Frantz at 603-271-2431. And thank you in advance for your cooperation. |
Four electric distribution companies operate in New
Hampshire, each serving a mutually exclusive franchise
territory. They include: Public Service Company of New
Hampshire (PSNH), Granite State Electric Company (GSEC),
Unitil Energy Systems, Inc. (UES) (formerly Concord
Electric Company and Exeter and Hampton Electric Company),
and the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NHEC).
In 1996, the New Hampshire Legislature enacted RSA
374-F, a statute which directed the Public Utilities
Commission (the Commission) to develop a statewide restructuring
plan to implement electric retail choice for all customers
by January 1, 1998. The Commission issued a restructuring
plan in February 1997, although its implementation was
slowed by subsequent litigation that constrained the
Commission to consider only voluntary filings of settlement
agreements or compliance plans. As a result, electric
utilities in New Hampshire restructured at different
times and in somewhat different ways.
GSEC was the first electric utility to restructure,
doing so in August 1998. PSNH followed in May 2001.
The UES companies, which merged in December of 2002,
introduced retail choice as of May 1, 2003. CVEC, which
has not restructured, is in the process of being acquired
by PSNH. Although competitive suppliers are welcome
to provide service in restructured franchise areas,
most residential customers receive Transition Service.
PSNH, a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, serves
approximately 70 percent of the retail customers in
New Hampshire. The company serves geographically and
demographically diverse areas, ranging from urban, southern
areas to rural, northern areas of the state. PSNH, which
sold its share of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Facility
in December 2002 in compliance with RSA 369-B and the
PSNH Restructuring Settlement Agreement, still owns
fossil and hydropower facilities. In January 2004, PSNH
acquired Connecticut Valley Electric Company (CVEC).
See Order No. 24,176. CVEC, which operated in the western
region of the state, served approximately 2 percent
of the retail customers in New Hampshire. At closing,
PSNH purchased the assets of and made payments to CVEC
to settle the stranded costs associated with a long-standing
FERC stranded cost proceeding. CVEC’s customers
became customers of PSNH and now pay the same rates
as other PSNH customers. Finally, following the completion
of the acquisition, CVEC and Central Vermont Public
Service Company (CVPS) withdrew their claims in Federal
court and at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC), thus resolving all remaining restructuring-related
litigation.
GSEC, whose franchise territory includes western and
southern areas of the state, serves approximately 6
percent of the retail customers in New Hampshire. GSEC
is a subsidiary of National Grid.
UES, a subsidiary of Unitil Corporation, was formed
when Unitil consolidated two former subsidiaries, Concord
Electric Company, and Exeter and Hampton Electric Company.
On a combined basis, these companies serve approximately
11 percent of New Hampshire’s retail customers
in both the Seacoast and Capital areas.
NHEC provides electric service to about 11 percent
of retail customers throughout the central part of New
Hampshire.
|
