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DOE Voices Concerns Re: Market Conditions Impacting Default Service Rates
Seeks proxy price better aligned with market to reduce future under collections and improve rate stability
On June 22, 2026, the New Hampshire Department Of Energy (DOE) filed a position statement position statement not objecting to Eversource’s rate and reconciliation balance calculation methodology.
However, the New Hampshire DOE stated that it “has ongoing concerns surrounding market conditions that ultimately impact the proposed default service rate,” and “is interested in better aligning the proxy price with the market so as to reduce future under collections and improve rate stability.”
On June 23, 2026 a hearing was held. Here is a link to the Clerk report.
As background, there are two primary issues presented in this case. This first issue is whether Eversource’s default service power supply procurement process is consistent with RSA 374-F:3, V(c)-(e) and various Commission orders.
The second primary issue is whether the resulting rates are just and reasonable as required by RSA 9 374:2, RSA 378:5, and RSA 378:7.
Another matter in this proceeding involves Order No. 28,200 (12/19/25 in DE 25-017), where the Commission ordered Eversource as part of its August 2026-January 2027 Energy Service petition filing to include: 1) “a proposal for application of a six-month Energy Service reconciliation cycle;” and 2) “testimony responding to the potential implementation of a futures price based proxy-price development methodology along the lines approved by the Commission in Order No. 28, 196 for Unitil Energy Systems, Inc. in Docket No. DE 25-032.”
On June 18, 2026 the New Hampshire PUC issued a procedural order on outstanding motions. Among other things the PUC granted Eversource’s June 10th motion to extend filing deadline for updated line loss study.
Also, on June 18th Eversource filed a petition regarding its August 1, 2026-January31, 2027 default service rates. “The proposed fixed ES rate for the small customer group… is $0.14009 per kWh, representing a 23.9% increase.”
Multiple supporting documents at main docket link.
Previously on June 16, 2026 Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH) filed testimony with supporting attachments.
In filed testimony CPCNH provides three proposed solutions the Commission may want to consider helping to ensure that utility default service rates are just and reasonable and that should be within scope for the next phase of this proceeding pursuant to a supplemental order of notice.
- Return to fully hedged fixed-price procurements (i.e., all-requirements contracts).
- Increase the fixed price all requirements portion of SCG loads and rates above 50%.
- To the extent spot market procurement continues as part of the mix, refine the proxy price methodology to try and balance the probability of over- and under-recovery and recover actual costs through more contemporaneous and/or continuous rolling rate adjustments for reconciliation.
