The Business and Industry Association, New Hampshire statewide chamber of commerce and leading business advocate, is raising concerns to New Hampshire’s Public Utilities Commission about substantial proposed increases in the System Benefits Charge (SBC), saying the energy savings resulting from the increases “do not outweigh the negative effect of their costs.” The SBC is an add-on charge to electricity customers’ bills, proceeds of which are used to fund energy efficiency projects and other programs.

The Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Energy Board recently endorsed the proposed increases, which range from between roughly one-half cent to 1.7 cents per kWh over current rates, depending upon a customer’s utility service territory. That translates into a 70% to 227% increase over the 2020 SBC. Employers in the commercial and industrial sectors will bear most of the cost of the proposed increases. The Public Utilities Commission is now taking public testimony.

In a letter to PUC Executive Director Debra Howland, BIA President Jim Roche said, “Increasing costs this substantially and rapidly…is bad for employers and the state’s economy, especially in the midst of a pandemic.”

Follow this link to read Roche's letter.

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