By Hunter Oberst
THE KEENE SENTINEL
WALPOLE — With the N.H. Public Utilities Commission having approved Walpole’s community power plan on Monday, a town official says the program could roll out in April, but only if it can beat the default utility’s electricity rate.
“We’re very happy they have [approved it],” said Paul Looney, chairman of Walpole’s community power committee. “This marks the beginning of the process to really get it going.”
Looney said there’s still much work to be done. The committee recently submitted a request to Liberty Utilities for customer usage data, which will show town officials how much energy is being supplied to customers in Walpole. Looney said he expects a response in about a month.
Once those specifics are known, he said the committee will seek out alternative energy providers early next year to compete with Liberty Utilities’ current electric rate of about 22 cents per kilowatt hour.
“We would be going out to find a vendor that can do better than that,” he said.
Currently, Walpole has its sights set on three: Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, Standard Power of America and Freedom Energy Logistics. Looney said suppliers will approach the community power committee with energy rates, and the committee will make a recommendation to the selectboard.
“We won’t be implementing this unless we can find a way to do better or just as good,” he said. “That will depend on how [the vendors] come back with their bids.”
According to the N.H. Department of Energy, while a utility delivers electricity to a home or business, customers have more options for who supplies that energy, and that’s where competitive suppliers come in. Customers can buy their energy supply from a utility, or they can get it from an alternate provider.
As part of a community power arrangement — such as the ones Keene and Harrisville approved last year, and Swanzey, Marlborough and Peterborough earlier this year — a municipal government rather than a utility sources electricity for local consumers. This gives the municipality more control over the power supply, allowing it to seek lower-cost or greener options, while a utility continues to maintain transmission lines and deliver the electricity.
Voters approved Walpole’s plan at town meeting earlier this year. Under the program, Walpole customers of Liberty Utilities will be automatically enrolled, although Looney said they can opt out.
The PUC approved Keene’s plan in October, and the city hopes to launch its plan as early as April.
Andrew Maneval, a member of the Harrisville electric-aggregation committee, said Thursday that Harrisville resubmitted its plan to the PUC about a week ago after the commission denied it in January without prejudice — meaning it could be resubmitted for approval — because the state was still developing rules for such plans. The PUC approved those rules July 27, and the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules gave them the green light Sept. 16.
Maneval said the town needed to make adjustments in its plan regarding the oversight of customer data. He added that the community power program is still on track to roll out in the spring or early summer.
Energy prices have soared, driven partially by high oil and natural gas costs stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine. In August, Liberty Utilities raised its rates by about 11 cents, swelling residential electric bills by around 50 percent.
Hunter Oberst can be reached at 355-8546, or [email protected].
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