1 New Section; Non-Wire Alternatives; Time-of-Use Pricing; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 378 by inserting after section 42-a the following new section:

378:42-b Non-Wire Alternatives; Time-of-Use Pricing; Rulemaking.

I. In this section:

(a) "Non-wires alternative" or "NWA" means any electrical grid investment including grid enhancements that are intended to defer or remove the need to construct or upgrade components of a distribution and transmission system and may also include distributed energy resources as authorized under RSA 374:G.

(b) "Time-of-Use pricing" means an electric rate schedule that adjusts the price of electricity based on load demand.

(c) "Time-of-Use tariffs" means sending price signals that reflect system conditions.

II. Regulated state electric default service provider utilities undergoing integrated distribution planning in accordance with RSA 378:38 shall include procurement of cost effective non-wires alternatives, including interconnection of distributed energy resources as authorized under RSA 374:G, to the maximum extent that NWAs provide system resilience, reliability, and defer or remove the need to construct or upgrade components of the electrical distribution or transmission system.

III. The department of energy and public utilities commission, in accordance with RSA 541-A, shall:

(a) Set rules for procurement processes to include competitive and transparent procurement by utilities of NWAs, based on an analysis of capital costs and demand savings associated with each NWA project.

(b) Require default service provider utilities to establish fair and reasonable time-of-use tariffs for seasonal and daily peak and off-peak usage for all classes of commercial and residential customers. This shall include programs for load curtailment, electric vehicle charging, and energy storage system services. As part of any time-of-use pricing system, default service utilities shall provide customers with AMI smart meters upon request. Such smart meters shall be capable of providing customers with real-time, on-demand data. Utilities shall calculate all applicable capital costs and demand savings associated with smart metering programs in their rate cases, as specified in RSA 374:62, III.

(c) Set rate cases in accordance with RSA 378:7, ensuring that rates for state electric default service customers are established every 5 years. Such rates shall be based on a combination of historic cost of operations, realized NWA procurements, and load servicing and infrastructure investment projections. Five-year rate cases may be supplemented by interim rate setting in response to unanticipated changes, such as variations in the rate of inflation, generation procurement and distribution costs, or other emergency relief sought by the default service utilities.

(d) Determine a formula and a process as part of a multi-year rate case to settle any cost savings above and beyond projections of costs made as part of a previous rate case. Such a formula and process will be set in order to share the savings equitably between utilities and ratepayers and incentivize cost savings by the utilities.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026.

1 New Section; Non-Wire Alternatives; Time-of-Use Pricing; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 378 by inserting after section 42-a the following new section:

378:42-b Non-Wire Alternatives; Time-of-Use Pricing; Rulemaking.

I. In this section:

(a) "Non-wires alternative" or "NWA" means any electrical grid investment including grid enhancements that are intended to defer or remove the need to construct or upgrade components of a distribution and transmission system and may also include distributed energy resources as authorized under RSA 374:G.

(b) "Time-of-Use pricing" means an electric rate schedule that adjusts the price of electricity based on load demand.

(c) "Time-of-Use tariffs" means sending price signals that reflect system conditions.

II. Regulated state electric default service provider utilities undergoing integrated distribution planning in accordance with RSA 378:38 shall include procurement of cost effective non-wires alternatives, including interconnection of distributed energy resources as authorized under RSA 374:G, to the maximum extent that NWAs provide system resilience, reliability, and defer or remove the need to construct or upgrade components of the electrical distribution or transmission system.

III. The department of energy and public utilities commission, in accordance with RSA 541-A, shall:

(a) Set rules for procurement processes to include competitive and transparent procurement by utilities of NWAs, based on an analysis of capital costs and demand savings associated with each NWA project.

(b) Require default service provider utilities to establish fair and reasonable time-of-use tariffs for seasonal and daily peak and off-peak usage for all classes of commercial and residential customers. This shall include programs for load curtailment, electric vehicle charging, and energy storage system services. As part of any time-of-use pricing system, default service utilities shall provide customers with AMI smart meters upon request. Such smart meters shall be capable of providing customers with real-time, on-demand data. Utilities shall calculate all applicable capital costs and demand savings associated with smart metering programs in their rate cases, as specified in RSA 374:62, III.

(c) Set rate cases in accordance with RSA 378:7, ensuring that rates for state electric default service customers are established every 5 years. Such rates shall be based on a combination of historic cost of operations, realized NWA procurements, and load servicing and infrastructure investment projections. Five-year rate cases may be supplemented by interim rate setting in response to unanticipated changes, such as variations in the rate of inflation, generation procurement and distribution costs, or other emergency relief sought by the default service utilities.

(d) Determine a formula and a process as part of a multi-year rate case to settle any cost savings above and beyond projections of costs made as part of a previous rate case. Such a formula and process will be set in order to share the savings equitably between utilities and ratepayers and incentivize cost savings by the utilities.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026.