New Hampshire Regulators Debate Future of Net Metering Amid Support from Utilities and Residents, Concerns Persist.

New Hampshire regulators are focusing on the future of net metering, a system for compensating customers who share excess power on the grid, in a bid to maintain the current system. Despite support from utilities, customers, and hundreds of residents, the state’s public utilities commission seemed unconvinced about the policy’s benefits. Nick Krakoff, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation in New Hampshire, said the commission was focused almost solely on cost. A settlement agreement was reached in early August, which calls for the state to keep the current net metered structure in place for two years and utilities propose time-of-use rates to match the real-time value of the power being sent into the grid. Public comments have also supported the agreement. However, clean energy advocates have expressed concern that the commission may not be paying much attention to the benefits the system creates.