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Committee hears bill to move electric assistance program administration to Department of Energy; sponsors call it housekeeping
Summary
Senate Bill 236 would transfer administration of the Electric Assistance Program to the New Hampshire Department of Energy. Supporters described it as housekeeping that places program oversight with the state energy agency; the department said the advisory board is functioning and raised concerns about naming members in statute.
Senate Bill 236, introduced at the request of the Department of Energy and presented in committee by Senator Don (Senator name given in testimony), would transfer administrative responsibility for New Hampshire’s Electric Assistance Program from the Public Utilities Commission to the Department of Energy.
Sponsor testimony described the measure as an administrative housekeeping change intended to place program administration with the agency best equipped to manage energy policy and low‑income assistance. The bill retains the program’s advisory board and the existing assessment (1.5 mills) that funds the program; sponsor testimony emphasized the advisory board’s continuing role in advising the DOE commissioner.
Amanda Noonan of the Department of Energy said the department supports placing administration with DOE as a cleanup: "We see this bill more as a cleanup. The electric assistance program has long since established…so this is truly an energy policy program that the department is well equipped to manage and administer." The department said it prefers to keep the advisory board voluntary rather than statutorily naming specific entities, because naming entities in statute can create complications when membership needs to change.
Senator Waters and others discussed a related amendment about whether the program should have a mandatory $1 million accumulation limit; Waters said committee members preferred to retain statutory flexibility so the program can respond to year‑to‑year rate spikes. DOE and the sponsor signaled readiness to work on technical edits.
Committee members generally expressed support for the concept of moving administration to DOE. No final vote on SB 236 was recorded in the portion of the transcript provided to the committee; sponsors and department staff said they would work through drafting details before any final action.
