Selectmen approve Canterbury Community Power default rate with contingent adder and opt-up option

The Canterbury Board of Selectmen voted to set the town’s six-month Community Power default energy rate starting Aug. 1, 2025, based on a conditional motion the board read into the record and approved during the meeting.

Why it matters: The vote sets the town’s default energy supply price for the six-month period Aug. 1, 2025–Jan. 31, 2026. The adopted approach aims to keep Canterbury’s Community Power default below the utilities’ default rates while creating a small discretionary fund (an “adder”) for local energy projects if market conditions allow.

What the board approved: The resolution the chair read and the board voted to adopt designates the new default as the “Canterbury basic default energy rate,” which will be the Granite Basic (the lowest basic rate set by the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire board on its June 26 meeting) plus a Canterbury adder of between 1 and 4 mills (0.1¢–0.4¢) depending on market spreads. The adder will be applied only if the Canterbury basic rate remains at least 1 mill (0.1¢) lower than the lowest of Unitil and Eversource default rates; if that condition cannot be met, the town will default to the CPCNH basic rate without the adder. The board also made a 2‑mill adder available as an opt-up for customers who wish to support the local discretionary fund.

Select-board action and wording: The motion was read aloud and moved and seconded; the board voted by voice and the motion carried with “Aye” votes. The board instructed staff and the town’s CPCNH representatives to confirm final numbers with the coalition’s rate-setting committee prior to the Aug. 1 enrollment changeover.

Appointments tied to Community Power: At the same meeting the board also appointed Beth LeGwynne as the town’s authorized officer for Community Power paperwork (replacing the prior designee) and confirmed Edgar Repell as the town representative to CPCNH. Those appointment motions passed.

Quotes from the meeting: “If the new Canterbury basic rate cannot be both lower than Unitil and Eversource … then the new 6‑month rate for Canterbury Community Power default energy service customers will be the new 6‑month Granite basic rate,” the board read as part of the resolution.

Ending: Staff said CPCNH will post the final rates after its June 26 board meeting and the town will have 48 hours after that to confirm the town’s enrollment and adder choices. The select board asked the town’s CPCNH delegates to circulate final numbers to the board when they are available.