NH bill would require utilities to plan opt‑in advanced meters; utilities and DOE warn of costs

Representative Kat McGee (Hillsborough 35) introduced House Bill 692 on Feb. 18, asking utilities to deliver to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) a timeline and plan for making “advanced” interval metering available to customers on an opt‑in basis.

McGee told the Science, Technology and Energy Committee the bill is intended to speed up access to metering that competitive suppliers and community power programs need to offer time‑sensitive pricing and other services. The bill would require utilities that have not implemented interval and advanced meter functionality to file a plan by Nov. 1, 2026, that shows how remaining meters could be converted and how any incremental cost would be allocated to the opting customer rather than shifted to all ratepayers.

Why it matters: Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and interval meters record consumption in sub‑hourly intervals and enable features such as time‑of‑use charging, transactive energy and more granular settlement. Supporters say the meters are a precondition for competitive…