For Assistance: These Organizations Can Help

The Electric Assistance Program

The Electric Assistance Program, or EAP, can help income-eligible customers pay their electric bills. The EAP provides those who are eligible with a discount on their monthly electric bills. The discounts range from 8% to 76%, depending on the customer’s gross household income and household size. 

All electric utility customers support the statewide EAP through the system benefits charge portion of their electric bill. The EAP discount helps make bills more affordable and helps customers avoid the risk of having their electric service shut off for non-payment. To be eligible for the program customers must receive an electric bill from a regulated electric utility and have a gross household income that qualifies at the time of application.

Some History of Community Power in Nelson

Electricity prices are high and community power can help peoples’ budgets. 

In June of 2022, the NH Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a rate hike to 22 cents per kilowatt hour for Eversource—about a 50% increase in electric bills for a typical household. In August, Donald M. Kreis, our Consumer Advocate, urged the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR)  to approve the community power aggregation rules stating, 

These rules have been three long years in the making, the product of a laborious stakeholder engagement process. They could not come before you at a more urgent and fortuitous juncture, because the prospect of Community Power Aggregation offers a lifeline to people as they suffer with bills from electric utilities that will pose a real affordability challenge to thousands of Granite Staters.

Some Good News and Some Bad News

The good news is that the NH community power aggregation rules were finally approved by the JLCAR in September, 2022. Other good news is that — as per a new law passed in NH earlier this year — community power is allowed not only by town but by county.

So now some sort of bad news, for your budget anyway. Although community power could potentially help your electric bill, establishing a community power aggregation program cannot happen overnight. Community Electric Aggregation Plans are being approved by the PUC but launching an electric aggregation plan takes time. For example, Keene's plan was approved by its City Council on November 3, 2022. The Keene Community Power website says, "The City of Keene is now assessing market conditions to identify an optimal time to select an electricity supplier for the program. We hope to launch the Program in 2023."  They launched in the late spring of 2023.

Tell Me More About Electric Aggregation by County

Let's get back to that good news about county-wide electric aggregation. But first, let's review the town of Nelson's community power effort. The Nelson Community Power Committee gathered information in the Spring 2022, surveyed the town in the early Summer 2022, and wrote a draft aggregation plan as the summer moved along. The Committee had planned for Public Hearings in the Fall of 2022 to educate Nelson ratepayers about our plan. But at the very end of August following the PUC approval of the aggregation rules that included counties, the committee met with a representative of Cheshire Community Power. The Nelson Committee identified the risks and benefits to the town of joining Cheshire County as opposed to forming our own electric aggregation. One benefit was that Cheshire Community Power would avoid town administrative staff time and expenditures that would be required to initiate and maintain Nelson Community Power. Another benefit is that the County already purchases approximately twice the amount of electricity than all of Nelson combined; by joining the County we should be able to leverage more buying power.

So, what's next? After meeting with the Nelson Board of Selectmen, it was decided that Nelson Community Power should be put on hold until the Cheshire County Electric Aggregation Plan (EAP) is approved by the County Delegation, which happened in December 2022. The Cheshire County Electric Aggregation Plan was submitted to the PUC on December 21, 2022 and approved in early 2023. Finally, confirmation by the Nelson Select Board with a unanimous vote to join Cheshire Community Power occurred on May 31st,  2023 — Nelson became the first Town to join a county-wide electric choice aggregation program in New Hampshire! Ratepayers received letters of notification about automatic enrollment in Cheshire Community Power's Default Service unless they choose to opt out. And there are choices for purchasing higher percentages of green energy. 

Let's Get Back to Your Electric Bill and What You Can Do About It - from the Nelson Energy Committee

If you are like many of your Nelson neighbors you are shocked by your recent electricity bills. When you sit down to review your budget, look for ways to reduce your utility bills. Two areas to consider are energy efficiency measures and energy supply costs. 

Low-cost and no-cost energy efficiency measures help reduce our monthly usage, which means lower monthly bills. New Hampshire’s public utilities have a number of energy efficiency rebate programs to help lower energy usage and monthly bills. NHSaves.com provides direct links to the rebates and programs available through your utility.

Consumers can also save by being smart shoppers when it comes to energy supply. Your electric bill consists of two parts – delivery service and energy supply. Delivery service is the poles and wires that bring electricity to your home or business. Your electric utility will always deliver the electricity you use. The energy supply portion of your bill is for the electricity you use in your home or business. Who supplies that energy is up to you, the customer. As a Nelson ratepayer, most likely you have been switched to Cheshire Community Power with its lower rates. 

Regardless of who you buy your energy supply from, remember that the price you pay is only fixed for a period of time. If you buy energy supply from Eversource, sometimes called default service, the price is approved by the Public Utilities Commission and set for 6 months.

If you buy your energy supply from a competitive energy supplier, the period of time for which the price is fixed will vary, depending on the contract you enter into. Keep track of the contract end date and re-evaluate your options before it ends to make sure you get the best price. Many consumers who choose a competitive supplier forget to keep track of when their contract ends and, as a result, may pay more than they would if they switched to Eversource or another competitive energy supplier.

Remember, regardless of whom you buy your electricity from, you will continue to call Eversource for outages, emergency services, and questions about your service.