New Hampshire renewable energy advocates propose solar settlement design

The solar industry and utilities both filed proposals this week with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for a settlement on future distributed solar rate design and compensation.

Both filings propose compensation rates for rooftop solar owners, time-of-use rate pilot programs and non-bypassable charges for solar customers.

The solar industry’s proposal suggests reducing the distribution credit paid for exported energy by 50 percent in 2019, while the utilities proposed eliminating the credit altogether. The solar filing advocated for monthly netting of credits, and the utilities suggested instantaneous netting, which results in a rate slightly below retail levels.

The Future Energy Coalition said in its filing that its goal is to reach a compromise by utilizing a data-driven method to lower energy costs for consumers, as well as enable economic growth and job creation in the state.

“The solar industry is offering a significant, good faith compromise and a path forward to reach a more modern, efficient, cheaper grid that benefits all ratepayers and helps to lower our state’s high energy costs,” Dan Clapp, partner at New Hampshire-based ReVision Energy, said. “This common sense, data driven settlement will foster more innovation, enable more growth across our economy and create more clean energy jobs right here in the Granite State.”