From NHPR: (full story is here)
Electric rates for members of the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire are higher, for the first time, than rates for customers with any of the state’s investor-owned utility companies.
As community power programs have grown in New Hampshire, their promise of lowering energy costs for households and providing more options for renewable energy have won over dozens of communities and nearly 200,000 customers. These programs allow towns and cities to supply electricity to their residents instead of a traditional utility company, while the utility company still delivers the electricity.
But throughout a winter of upheaval, the coalition, now the second-largest supplier of electricity in the state, experienced a loss of more than $8 million and parted ways with former Chief Executive Officer Brian Callnan.
The coalition’s recent financial issues illustrate the challenges facing the state’s fledgling community power programs and the obstacles standing between New Hampshire residents and more affordable power.
In March, the coalition raised their default rate in an effort to make sure their revenues covered costs. Now, their default rate – the lowest the organization offers– costs an average customer about $63 a month for power. The average customer at Unitil, Eversource, Liberty or the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative pays between $54 and $58.
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