Shocked By Electric Bills?
Blame Sununu!
The Issue: Residential Electric Bills Are Skyrocketing in New Hampshire!
Families across New Hampshire are struggling to afford the skyrocketing energy bills they're receiving. Power supply costs went up as much as 112% in August for residential customers due to Sununu’s and the NH GOP’s non-existent energy plan.
Vote for Democrats! NH deserves better. Vote for change and protect your wallet. Democratic candidates are committed to lower energy costs. Clean energy is a win-win, for both the environment and our pocketbooks.
Democrats will:
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Fight for renewable energy options and energy efficiency to ensure a clean, affordable energy future for the Granite State.
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Stand up to energy companies and bring down energy prices.
Background:
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In June of 2022, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC), composed of members all appointed by Sununu, approved a 112% increase in the kilowatt-hour cost of electricity for Eversource, the state’s largest utility, and other utility providers.
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This price increase happened under 100% Republican state control and has introduced significant economic hardships in an already challenging economic climate.
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Sununu's Public Utility Commission could have chosen to phase in changes to help ratepayers. They chose to help the energy companies instead.
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Energy corporations maintain that projected high natural gas costs drive price hikes. Yet, they pass those costs directly to customers while their stockholders profit.
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Eversource Energy, a Fortune 500 company, declared a $0.6375 per share stockholder dividend, up 6% over last year.
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Liberty Utilities, owned by Algonquin Power & Utilities, received a similar rate hike, while also giving its stockholders a 6% dividend increase. Its website brags that “continued growth in earnings and cash flows has supported over 10 consecutive years of double-digit dividend growth.”
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Governor Sununu has actively worked against a diverse energy marketplace for years. Sununu vetoed every bill that would have significantly lowered demand or increased alternative sources. Sununu and his appointees have delayed energy efficiency measures and the expansion of renewable energy sources that would help lower costs.
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The NH PUC is headed by a deeply unqualified Sununu appointee who has made no effort to create a diverse energy economy in New Hampshire.
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There is a lack of investment in alternative energy infrastructure brought about by Republican inaction.
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New Hampshire has one of the highest electricity rates in the country!
The Issue: An Unstable Electric Grid Could Cause Blackouts
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NH's lack of renewable energy goals puts Granite Staters at risk of rolling blackouts and at the mercy of other New England States.
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New Hampshire relies on fossil-fuel backups of other states in the ISO NE* coalition.
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However, as a federal regulator points out, when our neighbors reach their goals and no longer require costly backups, they can decommission them. Under Sununu’s leadership, New Hampshire is neither striving to replace fossil fuel nor increasing its own backup capacity. Hence, our neighbors' decisions could leave us in the dark.
Read the details about potential blackouts:
https://indepthnh.org/2022/06/03/federal-energy-regulator-to-new-hampshire-live-free-or-die/
*ISO New England Inc. is an independent, non-profit Regional Transmission Organization, headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts, serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
For more information on rising electrical rates and the causes:
https://www.wmur.com/article/electricity-rates-climb-new-hampshire/40710637