MANCHESTER, N.H. – Earlier this month, representatives from Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire came before the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen Special Committee on Energy Contracts and Related Activities on Monday night to discuss the concept of community power agreements in New Hampshire and how such a plan could theoretically work in Manchester under the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire or CPCNH.
Governed under NH RSA 53-E, community power programs such as CPCNH are designed to provide cities, towns and counties in New Hampshire with greater control over how they and their residents obtain electricity. Currently CPCNH is the only 53-E based community power organization, representing 64 municipalities and four counties across New Hampshire, making up 38 percent of the state’s population.
Under state law, funding for community programs cannot come from municipal general funds, instead coming from ratepayers within the program.
CPCNH Acting General Manager Henry Herndon and CPCNH Engagement Manager Andrew Hatch provided the presentation on CPCNH, which was originally requested by Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry.
Herndon and Hatch told members of the committee that if Manchester sought to move toward community energy, the city would have to join the other local and county governments that make up the CPCNH through a joint powers agreement and then establish an electric aggregation committee and prepare an electric aggregation plan. Herndon said that the Special Committee on Energy Contracts and Related Activities could serve as the electric aggregation committee in Manchester.
While some communities create their own reserve fund, they are also required to contribute to a reserve fund jointly held by all communities in the group, which allows CPCNH to qualify for power at ISO New England rates, cutting out middlemen.
Residential and commercial customers in CPCNH-aligned towns can also request that their electricity come from renewable energy portfolios. While there is no guarantee that the electricity within the grid that enters a person’s home is from renewable energy, electricity providers fulfill renewable energy requests through financial instruments called renewable energy certificates, or RECs.
Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza expressed skepticism with the program, believing that complexity of CPCNH’s governing structure ultimately has led to a lack of benefits for some of its municipal members.
The CPCNH representatives told Ward 7 Alderman Ross Terrio that municipalities or customers can opt-out of the program each up within 5-to-10 days of meter reads. They also noted that Nashua ratepayers have saved significant amounts since the program was initially established.
It was also noted that the best time to begin a program is in March since electricity rates spike in December, January and February as customers cope with the cold weather.
No action was taken, Committee Chair Dan O’Neil stated that the issue can return to the committee in the fall and members of the committee can engage in further education on the topic until that time.
More information can be found at CPCNH.org