HB 1534 - AS INTRODUCED
2026 SESSION
26-2569
06/08
HOUSE BILL 1534
AN ACT relative to utility default service.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cormen, Graf. 15; Rep. Caplan, Merr. 8; Rep. Darby, Hills. 11; Rep. McGhee, Hills. 35; Rep. Muns, Rock. 29; Rep. W. Thomas, Hills. 12
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
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ANALYSIS
This bill clarifies certain policy principles regarding electric utility default service, including default service rates and recovery for over- or under- collection.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-2569
06/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT relative to utility default service.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Electric Utility Restructuring; Restructuring Policy Principles; Universal Service. Amend 374-F:3, V(c) to read as follows:
(c) Utility default service should be designed to provide a safety net and to assure universal access and system integrity, minimize customer risk, not unduly harm the development of competitive markets, and mitigate against price volatility without creating new deferred costs. Utility default service should be procured through the competitive market and may be administered by independent third parties. Any prudently incurred costs arising from compliance with the renewable portfolio standards of RSA 362-F for utility default service or [purchased power agreements] purchases of power, capacity, and ancillary services to serve utility default service shall be recovered through [the] default service [charge] charges. To the extent that there are separate utility default service rates, the costs to serve customers on those separate default service rates, including any prior period under- or over- collections, shall be recovered through the respective future default service rates as approved by the commission. The allocation of the costs of administering default service should be borne by the customers of default service in a manner approved by the commission. If the commission determines it to be in the public interest, the commission may implement measures to discourage misuse, or long-term use, of default service. Revenues, if any, generated from such measures should be used to defray stranded costs.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 3, 2026 | House | Hearing |
Jan. 29, 2026: Public Hearing: 02/03/2026 02:00 pm GP 229
Dec. 10, 2025: Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Science, Technology and Energy