New Hampshire Governor Supports Legislation Expanding Access to Net Metering

Republican Governor Christopher Sununu on Jan. 6 announced his support for a trio of clean energy bills including measures that would expand access to net metering. Sununu vetoed several clean energy bills in the last session, including raising the state’s net metering cap to 5 megawatts from 1 megawatt, over concerns of higher electric bills.

Sununu expects the new measures, sponsored by Republican House members, to remove government barriers to renewable energy and usher in a new clean energy era in the state. 

The first measure, introduced by Rep. John Plumer, would increase the net metering limit to more than one megawatt as long as it is no more than 125 percent of the customer’s average monthly power consumption. Currently, customer-generators with a capacity of up to one megawatt qualify for the program.

The second bill, introduced by Rep. Timothy Lang, would establish an exemption for a group of net-metered facilities operated by a municipality to offset municipal electricity requirements.

The third piece of legislation, introduced by Rep. Michael Costable, would expand the authority of limited power producers to sell their output in the private sector.