HB1601 (2022) Compare Changes


Unchanged Version

Text to be removed highlighted in red.

1 Legislative Findings and Purpose. The general court finds that:

I. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) allowance sales revenue was originally intended to be used to support energy efficiency initiatives in the state of New Hampshire, including support of low-income energy efficiency measures and proposals that qualified as energy efficiency measures overseen by the public utilities commission and administered by NHsaves.

II. While the public utilities commission is projecting that the RGGI auction price will be going higher in the next few years, the funding for NHsaves will not be going up. This is due to the fact that currently only the first $1 of each auction price goes to fund NHsaves regardless of how high the auction price is. Even today, NHsaves already runs out of funding by the middle of each year, since demand exceeds the funding available.

III. This bill would ensure that as the RGGI auction prices rises, so will funding for NHsaves. However, as a safeguard against loss of funding, the bill ensures that funding for NHsaves will not drop below the revenue that NHsaves received from the RGGI auctions in 2020.

2 Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; Energy Efficiency Fund and Use of Auction Proceeds. Amend RSA 125-O:23, II to read as follows:

II. All amounts in excess of the threshold price of $1 for any allowance sale shall be rebated to all retail electric ratepayers in the state on a per-kilowatt-hour basis, in a timely manner to be determined by the commission.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Changed Version

Text to be added highlighted in green.

1 Legislative Findings and Purpose. The general court finds that:

I. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) allowance sales revenue was originally intended to be used to support energy efficiency initiatives in the state of New Hampshire, including support of low-income energy efficiency measures and proposals that qualified as energy efficiency measures overseen by the public utilities commission and administered by NHsaves.

II. While the public utilities commission is projecting that the RGGI auction price will be going higher in the next few years, the funding for NHsaves will not be going up. This is due to the fact that currently only the first $1 of each auction price goes to fund NHsaves regardless of how high the auction price is. Even today, NHsaves already runs out of funding by the middle of each year, since demand exceeds the funding available.

III. This bill would ensure that as the RGGI auction prices rises, so will funding for NHsaves. However, as a safeguard against loss of funding, the bill ensures that funding for NHsaves will not drop below the revenue that NHsaves received from the RGGI auctions in 2020.

2 Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; Energy Efficiency Fund and Use of Auction Proceeds. Amend RSA 125-O:23, II to read as follows:

II. All amounts in excess of 15 percent of the 2020 RGGI allowance revenue or 15 percent of the current year 's RGGI allowance revenue, whichever is higher, shall be rebated to all retail electric ratepayers in the state on a per-kilowatt-hour basis, in a timely manner to be determined by the commission.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.