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Bill to reclassify power generators as businesses wins support from generators' trade groups
Summary
House Bill 696, a multi-year commission recommendation, would reclassify electric generators from utility to commercial taxation and move them onto the statewide education property tax (SWEPT); generators and hydropower groups told the committee the change would reduce duplicative assessments and litigation.
House Bill 696, grounded in a three-year study commission on electricity market structure, would reclassify non‑utility power generators for tax purposes and move them onto the statewide education property tax (often termed "SWEPT" in testimony). The sponsor and industry representatives told the Senate Ways and Means Committee the change corrects a longstanding anomaly that subjects generators to dual assessments and repeated litigation.
Representative Jordan Ellery, a House Ways and Means vice chair and a prime sponsor of HB 696, described the problem as an artifact of deregulation: "The producers of electricity are not a public utility. They're a private enterprise that produce electrons," he said. He said the bill would recast generators as manufacturing facilities taxed like other commercial property and allow communities to receive property tax on the structures rather than rely on time-limited payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs). The bill would take effect in 2027, giving communities and operators time to transition, Ellery said.
Industry witnesses supported the bill as the study commission's consensus recommendation. Molly Connors of the New England Power Generators Association said New Hampshire is among a minority of states that subject generators to both local property tax and utility property tax; she called that "duplicative and burdensome" and estimated her members operate about 4,300 megawatts of capacity in New Hampshire. Mala Minow of the Granite State Hydropower Association said small hydropower owners also supported the change and emphasized the relief it would provide to smaller generators that now face two separate assessment and appeals processes.
Committee members were told the statute's current arrangement leads to repeated litigation and inconsistent valuation methods; the bill would move assessment responsibility to municipalities and reduce Department of Revenue involvement in plant valuations. Representative Ellery and witnesses emphasized the bill would not immediately terminate existing PILOT agreements; PILOTs would run out on their current schedule and the bill's implementation timing was structured to avoid abrupt changes for local governments.
Ending: The committee closed the public hearing on HB 696 and indicated it will take the bill up in executive session next week. Witnesses emphasized the bill represents the study commission's consensus and asked the committee to adopt the commission's recommendation to reduce litigation and align tax treatment with other commercial property.
