New Hampshire legislature fails to override veto of net metering bill
The New Hampshire legislature failed in its attempt to override a veto of HB 365, a bill that would have raised the net metering limit from 1 to 5 megawatts (MW) in the state. The bill was originally passed earlier this year but was vetoed by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu in June.
To override the veto, the House of Representatives needed a two-thirds vote, but fell short by six votes. The final vote was 248-132. To pass, the override would have had to also be approved by two-thirds in the Senate. The bill was also vetoed last year and an override effort at the time failed by 14 votes.
The governor said the bill would benefit large-scale renewable developments at the cost of all New Hampshire taxpayers. He explained that he is open to energy legislation, but only if it makes sense for all New Hampshire residents.
“Today’s vote by the House to sustain my veto is good news for the ratepayers of New Hampshire,” Gov. Sununu said in a statement after the vote. “This was the wrong bill for New Hampshire that would have only benefited large solar developers, not seniors and those on fixed incomes, and I look forward to introducing common-sense energy legislation next session.”
During its research in the drafting of HB 365, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) found that there were 74 MW of generating facilities that could benefit from an increase in net metering limits. Of those facilities, more than two-thirds are hydroelectric.
“The majority of Republicans pledged to their constituents that they would not support public policy that would put upward pressure on electricity rates, under any circumstances,” said House Republican Leader Rep. Dick Hinch in a statement. “And rightly so, as we have some of the highest energy costs in the nation.”
The New Hampshire House Democrats reacted on Twitter to the news: “This bill was good for renewable energy and would have given increased flexibility to business owners & communities who sought to save on energy costs by generating their own solar power.”
Failure of the bill does not preclude companies from building large-scale renewable facilities, but there are currently no utility-scale solar facilities larger than 1 MW that provide any net generation in the state. Customer-provided solar generation totals around 108,000 megawatt-hours of solar to the state in 2018.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 21 percent of New Hampshire’s electricity generation came from renewable resources in 2018, mostly from hydroelectric power and biomass.
Eighty percent of hydroelectric capacity in New Hampshire is older than 60 years, and most of the biomass generators are older than 20 years. Although wind provided more net generation in the state in 2016 and 2017 than coal, that trend reversed in 2018 because coal-powered generation continued to increase.
Another bill that would continue to provide subsidies for small wood-burning biomass plants in the state also failed an override by a vote of 251-132.
Rep. Hinch added that “We believe providing a level playing field in the energy market will provide the best outcome for ratepayers. The votes today were not in favor or opposition of specific industries, but government mandates that artificially raise the cost of electricity, and end up hurting low and fixed income citizens the most.”
