New Hampshire Governor Approves Proposal to Create 10-Year Energy Plan

Kevin Landrigan , The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H. ( June 29, 2001 )

CONCORD, N.H. - Gov. Jeanne Shaheen signed a state law Wednesday to  craft a 10-year energy plan, saying such advance planning will help the region avoid the crisis facing California.

"It is vital we look at not only our energy supplies, but also at whether we are using energy as efficiently as possible," Shaheen said.

"We must take advantage of new technologies to lower energy use and costs  while safeguarding our environment."

Shaheen's Office of Energy and Community Services will lead the plan's formation and conduct at least four public hearings across the state. It will  work with the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire to devise the plan.

Public Service of New Hampshire customers will finance the $100,000 cost of  the study through a systems benefits charge that started appearing on bills last May.

The Legislature raised that charge for PSNH from $2 million to $13 million with another state law last spring, in part to avoid energy shortages in the  future.

PSNH Chief Executive Officer Gary Long said that with a deregulated  electricity industry, this is the perfect time for the state to take the lead in examining the region's energy needs.

"Historically, utilities used to do this planning, but with deregulation this  is not part of the mission," Long said.

"This is a timely, logical step."

The plan must include a forecast for energy demand, a review of all power  generation, an examination of the state's siting process, the diversity and  efficiency of the state's energy sources and how state issues relate to regional  requirements for power.

The bill's prime sponsor, Rep. Terie Norelli, D-Portsmouth, said there are no  preconceived ideas about what the study will find.

"Once again, New Hampshire will be ahead of the curve on energy issues once  this plan is completed," Norelli said.

House Science, Technology and Energy Committee Chairman Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, said New Hampshire's own energy supply is solid with two  gas-to-energy plants now near completion in Newington and Londonderry.

"The critical issue is the infrastructure to get power to those gas plants and to check transmission lines so there are no bottlenecks in New Hampshire,"  Bradley said.

Long agreed that while New Hampshire's local transmission network has few  problems, the New England region has pockets of peak energy demand that exceed power sources close by.

"In a deregulated market, the free flow of power becomes critical, and there is growing concern at times around Boston, southwestern Connecticut and the ties  between New England and New York," Long said.

"How does the region look? We're in pretty decent shape, but we want to make sure we stay there 10 years from now."

Sen. Clifton Below, D-Lebanon, led the effort to amend the bill by striking a  double registration fee that had been put in place during the early 1990s against any non-gasoline alternative vehicles.

This added to the cost of "hybrid-electric" vehicles that can get 70 miles per gallon of gasoline and are the wave of the future, Below said.

"We face a lot of challenges with ground transportation in the future," he said.

"We've taken away a disincentive to buy these new-age vehicles and that's a  very positive development."