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'Lower Your Energy Prices Act' would trigger performance-based rates if bills spike, sponsor says
Summary
Sen. Rebecca Perkins Quilker introduced SB 597 to direct utilities toward performance‑based rate‑making if rates exceed an inflation‑adjusted threshold, aiming to stabilize bills and spur grid modernization. Sponsors framed the change as a trigger, not a mandatory overhaul; stakeholders asked for coordination with a pending PUC docket.
Senator Rebecca Perkins Quilker introduced Senate Bill 597, titled the ‘‘Lower Your Energy Prices Act,’’ and offered an amendment after discussions with the Public Utilities Commission and Eversource. The bill would require utilities that cause rates to exceed a specified threshold (the sponsor suggested roughly 4% above the previous year adjusted for inflation) to adopt a performance‑based rate‑making structure intended to stabilize bills and encourage grid modernization, demand flexibility, and efficient procurement.
Perkins Quilker said New Hampshire’s average electric rate is well above the national average and that the proposal is intended to give ratepayers more predictable bills while encouraging investment in modernization and alternatives such as demand response and distributed resources. She noted the PUC has opened an investigative docket on performance‑based rate making and that the bill is designed to encourage that work.
Witnesses at the hearing stressed different emphases: proponents argued the bill would push utilities and regulators toward tools that manage volatility and better align investment with customer outcomes; critics cautioned that performance metrics are complex to design and that poor design can create perverse incentives. The committee recessed the bill and encouraged further coordination with the PUC docket and stakeholder input on metric design and thresholds.
