Legislative panel postpones Department of Energy interconnection rules after industry objections

The Joint Administrative Rules Committee voted to waive time limits and postpone the Department of Energy's EN1000 interconnection rules for one month after a lengthy public comment period raised concerns about cost responsibility, uniform procedures and agency authority.

The rules implement provisions of 2024's SB 391 to create uniform procedures for distributed energy resource interconnection. Department staff told the committee they developed the rules after multiple stakeholder sessions and filed conditional approval requests; the agency asked the committee to grant conditional approval while it continued to refine language. Department attorney Maria Len Balinsson said the EN1000 chapter implements the statute's requirement for rules governing distributed energy resources and interconnection timelines and procedures.

But solar developers, industry groups and engineers told the committee the draft leaves several critical items unresolved. Py Campbell, who identified himself as a former state representative and a solar developer, said the rules omit a clear definition of "customer generator" and lack explicit fee schedules or cost responsibilities, which leaves customers and developers at risk of bearing unpredictable utility upgrade costs. "The rule is not in the public interest because it creates tremendous economic uncertainty within the customer generation market," Campbell said.

Multiple witnesses, including engineers and representatives of clean-energy firms, urged alignment with national best practices such as the Interstate Renewable Energy Council model interconnection procedures and asked the department to include predictable interconnection fees in the rule text rather than deferring fee-setting to utility interconnection agreements. Lindsay Burggoyne of Revision Energy and Chris Scoand of Clean Energy New Hampshire both flagged language (EN1018.04) that they said could allow utilities to impose additional equipment or costs after an interconnection is completed, a provision they called vague and potentially retroactive.

The Department's regulatory director, Andrew Nunan, said the agency sought a middle path after extensive stakeholder engagement and believes it met the legislative intent of SB 391, but acknowledged disagreement on some points. He told legislators the department did not include application fees or explicit cost levels because it does not view the department as the rate‑setting body and expects the Public Utilities Commission to play a role on fees.

Legislators said those unresolved questions'especially who sets fees and whether the rules protect small "customer generators" from bearing transmission‑level upgrades'warrant more time. The committee asked staff to consult with the Public Utilities Commission and invited the Department of Energy to return next month with potential amendments or a revised conditional approval request. The motion to waive and postpone passed by voice vote.

The committee also conditionally approved the EN900 net‑metering rules earlier in the meeting, adopting an oral amendment to make certain requirements effective on or after the 2026 effective date of the chapter; members asked staff to track statutory cleanups that may be needed in the next legislative session.

The department will return to the committee next month to continue consideration of EN1000. In the interim the staff will consult the PUC on fee‑setting authority and the department said it will consider further edits based on the comments presented.