HB 710-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
20Mar2025... 0716h
05/22/2025 2329s
2025 SESSION
25-0613
06/08
HOUSE BILL 710-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Vose, Rock. 5; Rep. Ammon, Hills. 42; Rep. Berezhny, Graf. 11; Rep. Bernardy, Rock. 36; Rep. McFarlane, Graf. 18; Rep. Notter, Hills. 12; Sen. Lang, Dist 2; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Pearl, Dist 17
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill:
I. Defines "advanced nuclear resource" (ANR) and includes ANR options alongside renewable energy sources for utility services.
II. Sets limitations and guidelines for investments in distributed electric generation.
III. Clarifies the coordinator's duties in nuclear development and regulatory activities.
IV. Allows the department of energy or the electric distribution utilities, or both, to issue requests for proposals (RFPs) for multi-year agreements for energy, in conjunction with or independent of any attendant environmental attributes from electric energy sources, and coordinate with one or more New England states in issuing this RFP.
V. Modifies the scope and capacity limits of community solar projects, including expanding the annual cap for low-moderate income community solar projects from 6 MW to 18 MW.
VI. Allows group net metering members to sign agreements with multiple group hosts, as long as their combined allocated load does not exceed their total load.
VII. Expands the definition of "political subdivision" to include public housing authorities and explains eligibility for participation in group net metering.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20Mar2025... 0716h
05/22/2025 2329s
25-0613
06/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACT enabling electric utilities to own, operate, and offer advanced nuclear resources, and relative to purchased power agreements for electric distribution utilities and limitations on community customer generators.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Findings and Purpose. The general court finds that:
I. The cost of electricity supply in New Hampshire is higher than the national average and continues to create an economic burden on the state’s citizens and businesses.
II. The cost of electricity in New England is driven by a number of factors, including the retirements of baseload generation resources, lack of adequate natural gas capacity in the winter, and increases in the cost of natural gas due to international factors.
III. The retention of and development of reliable sources of low-cost electricity supply is critical to stabilizing and reducing the cost of electricity in New Hampshire.
IV. Market volatility is harming New Hampshire’s residents and businesses.
V. To ensure that New Hampshire ratepayers can benefit from cost-effective energy sources, the general court finds that it is appropriate to allow the electric distribution utilities to issue requests for proposals to provide more diverse and long-term options for providing energy service to customers.
2 Coordination of Studies and Development Activities; Position Established. Amend RSA 162-B:4, III to read as follows:
III. The coordinator of nuclear development and regulatory activities shall have the duty to coordinate and produce the reports required by RSA 162-B:3, as well as coordinate the studies conducted, and the recommendations and proposals made, in this state with like activities in New England and other states and with the policies and regulations of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. These activities may include the management of funding and oversight of nuclear incentive programs, such as those described by RSA 374-G:4, as well as outreach programs to inform and educate the public, particularly regarding safety.
3 Net Metering. Amend RSA 362-A:9, III and IV to read as follows:
III. Metering shall be done in accordance with normal metering practices. A single net meter that shows the customer's net energy usage by measuring both the inflow and outflow of electricity internally shall be the extent of metering that is required at facilities with a total peak generating capacity of not more than [100] 500 kilowatts. A bi-directional metering system that records the total amount of electricity that flows in each direction from the customer premises, either instantaneously or over intervals of an hour or less, shall be required at facilities with a total peak generating capacity of more than [100] 500 kilowatts. Customer-generators shall not be required to pay for the installation of net meters, but shall pay for the installation of all bi-directional metering systems as outlined in utility interconnection tariffs or rules.
IV.(a) For facilities with a total peak generating capacity of not more than [100] 500 kilowatts, when billing a customer-generator under a net energy metering tariff that is not time-based, the utility shall apply the customer's net energy usage when calculating all charges that are based on kilowatt hour usage. Customer net energy usage shall equal the kilowatt hours supplied to the customer over the electric distribution system minus the kilowatt hours generated by the customer-generator and fed into the electric distribution system over a billing period.
(b) For facilities with a total peak generating capacity of more than [100] 500 kilowatts, the customer-generator shall pay all applicable charges on all kilowatt hours supplied to the customer over the electric distribution system, less a credit on default service charges equal to the metered energy generated by the customer-generator and fed into the electric distribution system over a billing period.
4 Net Energy Metering. Amend RSA 362-A:9, XIV(e) to read as follows:
XIV.(e) The department of energy, by rule or order, shall develop a process by which community solar developers can apply for designation as a community solar project for new solar arrays. Such projects designate their production for the benefit of households on the list required in subparagraph (d). Such projects will qualify for the low-moderate income solar addition as established in subparagraph (c) and shall specify the amount of on-bill credit they can offer to low-moderate income households. Annually, the number of projects designated as low-moderate income community solar shall not exceed a total nameplate capacity rating of [6] 18 megawatts in the aggregate. If more than [6] 18 megawatts of projects apply for designation, the department of energy shall select the projects that offer the largest on-bill credit and that demonstrates project readiness.
5 Definitions. Amend RSA 362-A:1-a, II-c to read as follows:
II-c. "Municipal host" means a customer generator with a total peak generating capacity of greater than one megawatt and less than 5 megawatts used to offset the electricity requirements of a group consisting exclusively of one or more customers who are political subdivisions, provided that all customers are located within the same utility franchise service territory. A municipal host may be owned by either a public or private entity. For this definition, "political subdivision" means the state of New Hampshire or any city, town, county, school district, chartered public school, village district, school administrative unit, [or any district or entity created for a special purpose administered or funded by any of the above-named governmental units] nonprofit educational institutions, or any district or entity created for a special purpose administered or funded by any of the above-mentioned governmental units; such districts or entities include public housing authorities.
6 New Paragraph; Electric Utility Restructuring; Definitions. Amend RSA 374-F:2 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
II-a. “Advanced nuclear resource" (ANR) means generation IV nuclear technologies that include gas-cooled, lead-cooled, sodium-cooled, supercritical water-cooled, and molten salt and very high temperature reactors, small modular, thermal-only, and encased fuel pellets reactors, including any micro, mini, or small nuclear reactor having a generating capacity between 0 and 300 megawatts.
7 Definitions. Amend RSA 362-F:2, X-a to read as follows:
X-a. "Low-moderate income community solar project" means ground-mounted or rooftop solar arrays with a total peak generating capacity of up to and including 3 megawatts, that directly benefit a group of at least 5 residential end-user customers, where at least a majority of the residential end-user customers are at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or directly benefit the residents of a public housing authority created pursuant to RSA 203, or a housing project as described in RSA 78-B:2, XXIII, where the electric bills are either paid directly by the residents or by the public housing authority or housing project, provided that at least a majority of the residents receiving the direct benefit are at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) calculated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. No more than 15 percent of the projected load for such project shall be attributable to non-residential end-user customers.
8 Purchased Power Agreements. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 374-F:11, I to read as follows:
I. Investor-owned electric distribution utilities may elect to develop and, no later than June 30, [2025] 2040, issue a request for proposals for multi-year agreements for energy, in conjunction with or independent of any attendant environmental attributes from electric energy sources.
9 Purchased Power Agreements. Amend RSA 374-F:11, I(g) to read as follows:
(g) All megawatt hours procured through agreements made pursuant to this section shall come from existing, new, or incremental electric energy sources.
10 New Subparagraph; Purchased Power Agreements. Amend RSA 374-F:11, I(h) by inserting after subparagraph (2) the following new subparagraphs:
(3) "Existing electric energy sources" means all sources that currently provide energy to the ISO-NE regional markets, including nuclear power generation facilities located in the ISO-NE control area that commenced commercial operation before January 1, 2011.
(4) Upon the petition of one or more electric distribution utilities, and after notice and hearing, the public utilities commission may authorize such utility or utilities to enter into multi-year agreements with existing, new, or incremental electric energy sources up to a total of 3 million megawatt hours statewide, on an annual basis, if it finds such agreements to be just and reasonable and in the public interest.
(5) Further, any single source shall be eligible to procure an amount of energy not to exceed 1 million megawatt hours statewide, on an annual basis, except for advanced nuclear resources as defined in RSA 374-F:2, II-a, which may procure an amount not to exceed 2 million megawatt hours on an annual basis.
11 Purchased Power Agreements. Amend the introductory paragraph for RSA 374-F:11, II to read as follows:
II. Any investor-owned electric distribution utility electing to enter into an agreement pursuant to this section shall petition the public utilities commission for authorization to enter the agreement no later than June 30, [2026] 2041.
12 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
25-0613
Revised 2/3/25
HB 710-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT enabling electric utilities to own, operate, and offer advanced nuclear resources.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant states this bill has no fiscal impact on state, county and local expenditures or revenue.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Energy
| Date | Amendment |
|---|---|
| March 10, 2025 | 2025-0716h |
| May 14, 2025 | 2025-2163s |
| May 22, 2025 | 2025-2329s |
| May 22, 2025 | 2025-2257s |
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 11, 2025 | House | Hearing |
| March 4, 2025 | House | Exec Session |
| March 4, 2025 | House | Floor Vote |
| April 1, 2025 | Senate | Hearing |
| May 22, 2025 | Senate | Floor Vote |
May 22, 2025: Ought to Pass with Amendment #2025-2329s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 05/22/2025; SJ 14
May 22, 2025: Sen. Rosenwald Floor Amendment # 2025-2257s, AF, VV; 05/22/2025; SJ 14
May 22, 2025: Sen. Avard Floor Amendment # 2025-2329s, AA, VV; 05/22/2025; SJ 14
May 22, 2025: Committee Amendment # 2025-2163s, AF, VV; 05/22/2025; SJ 14
May 14, 2025: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2025-2163s, 05/22/2025, Vote 4-1; SC 22
March 25, 2025: Hearing: 04/01/2025, Room 103, SH, 10:00 am; SC 15
March 24, 2025: Introduced 03/20/2025 and Referred to Energy and Natural Resources; SJ 9
March 20, 2025: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2025-0716h: MA DV 259-85 03/20/2025 HJ 9 P. 89
March 20, 2025: Amendment # 2025-0716h: AA VV 03/20/2025 HJ 9 P. 88
March 10, 2025: Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate
March 10, 2025: Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2025-0716h 03/04/2025 (Vote 14-3; RC)
Feb. 25, 2025: Executive Session: 03/04/2025 01:00 pm LOB 302-304
Feb. 25, 2025: Full Committee Work Session: 03/04/2025 10:30 am LOB 302-304
Feb. 7, 2025: Public Hearing: 02/11/2025 01:00 pm LOB 302-304
Jan. 22, 2025: Introduced (in recess of) 01/09/2025 and referred to Science, Technology and Energy HJ 3 P. 24