New Hampshire Administrative Code

(a) En 503 through En 510 shall apply to every utility as defined by En 502.27, with the exception of liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") operators and landfill gas operators. (b) En 511 and En 512 shall apply only to landfill gas operators and LPG operators as defined in En 502.13 a…

The purpose of these rules is to implement the department's responsibility pursuant to the Natural Gas Act, 15 USC § 717 (c), the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act, 49 USC § 60105, and New Hampshire law regulating gas utilities and gas utility service. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 5…

"Check flow" means a flow rate of 15% to 25% of the rated capacity of a meter. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.01 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Commission" means the New Hampshire public utilities commission. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.02 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Cubic foot" means, for the purpose of measurement of gas to a customer, the amount of gas which occupies a volume of one cubic foot under the conditions existing in the customer's meter as and where installed, provided such meter is not subject to abnormal temperature conditions…

"Customer" means any person, firm, corporation, cooperative marketing association, utility or governmental unit or subdivision of a municipality or of the state or nation supplied with gas service by a utility. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.04 Derived from Number 45, Filed Nove…

"Department" means the New Hampshire department of energy. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.05 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Economic conservation" means conservation activities that cost less to implement than the value of the resources saved. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.06 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Fast" means greater than plus 2% accuracy. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.07 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Gas" means any manufactured or natural gas or any combination thereof. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.08 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Incident" means "incident" as defined in 49 CFR Part 191.3. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.09 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Jurisdictional LPG system" means: (1) A system involving a single source which serves 10 or more customers; or (2) A system where more than one customer is located in a public place. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.10 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #…

"Landfill" means a facility which collects and disposes of waste by landfilling methods. The term includes facilities that collect and store waste indefinitely. The term does not include incinerators, land application sites, surface impoundments and injection wells. Notes N.H. Ad…

"Landfill gas" means any flammable consisting primarily of methane and carbon dioxide and produced by aerobic and anaerobic decomposition of organic solid waste in a landfill. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.12 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, E…

"Landfill gas operator" means a person who engages in the transportation of landfill gas off site from the premises in which it was gathered except where the landfill gas is transferred in a pipeline that operates at less than atmospheric pressure from the premises where it was g…

"LNG" means liquefied natural gas. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.14 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"LPG" means liquefied petroleum gas. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.15 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"LPG operator" means a person who engages in the transportation of propane gas. An LPG operator includes but is not limited to an individual or supplier operating a jurisdictional LPG system in a housing project, apartment complex, condominium, manufactured home park, shopping ce…

"Master meter system" means any underground gas pipeline system operated by a residential or commercial customer of a New Hampshire gas utility and utilized for the distribution of gas to ultimate consumers within, but not limited to, a definable area, such as a manufactured hous…

"Meter" means a device which measures gas flow and which may include a gas diaphragm type, a rotary positive displacement type, an inferential turbine type or an ultrasonic type. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.18 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796…

"Open flow" means a flow rate of 80% to 120% of the rated capacity of a meter. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.19 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Peak shaving" means the use of fuels and equipment to generate or manufacture gas to supplement the normal supply of pipeline gas during periods of extremely high demand. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.20 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effec…

"Person" means an individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, state, cooperative association, or joint stock association, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof but does not include a municipality operating a g…

"Public place" means a place which is generally open to all persons in a community, such as churches, schools, and commercial buildings, as well as any publicly owned rights-of-way or property. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.22 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Pro…

"Slow" means greater than minus 2% accuracy. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.23 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Standard gravitational force" means acceleration at 32.17 feet per second squared. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.24 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Total heating value" means the number of British thermal units (Btu) produced by the combustion, at constant pressure, of the amount of gas which would occupy a volume of one cubic foot at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and under standard gravitational force with air of …

"Turbine meter" means an inferential type meter. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.26 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

"Utility" means any "public utility" as defined in RSA 362:2 engaged in the manufacture, distribution, sale, transmission or transportation of gas in the state, as limited in RSA 362:4-b with respect to liquefied petroleum gas. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 502.27 Derived from Numb…

A utility shall charge for all gas sold or transported on a metered basis. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 503.01 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023, Expires 10/25/2033.

(a) Each service meter of the displacement type shall indicate clearly the cubic feet of gas registered. (b) When gas is measured under high pressure or when the quantity is determined by calculation from recording devices, the utility shall supply the customer with the informati…

(a) A utility shall provide certain services to its customers when service conditions such as change in pressure or composition of the gas affect or would affect efficiency of operation or adjustment of appliances. (b) When any change occurs as described in (a) above, a utility s…

Each utility shall comply with rules governing provision of service to customers contained in En 1200, uniform administration of utility customer relations. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 503.04 Derived from Number 45, Filed November 9, 2023, Proposed by #13796, Effective 10/25/2023…

(a) Each utility shall establish its own standard heating value for the gas it furnishes the public. At no time shall the daily average heating value be less than the established standard. The standard adopted by the utility shall be stated in its tariff as required by Puc 504.01…

All gas distributed in New Hampshire shall contain not more than 20 grains of total sulphur per 100 cubic feet nor more than one fourth of one grain of hydrogen sulphide per 100 cubic feet. Upon customer request, the utility shall provide the sulphur content for the volume billed…

(a) Pipeline systems containing cast iron segments shall be limited to a maximum pressure of 13.8 inches of water column. (b) Consistent with system design, the pressure at the outlet of any customer's service meter shall never be:(1) Less than 4 inches of water column; or (2) Gr…

(a) Each utility shall use all practicable means to avoid interruptions to service, including maintaining appropriate levels of maintenance and planning for unexpected events. (b) Should interruptions occur, a utility shall re-establish service within the shortest time practicabl…

(a) The utility shall notify the enforcement division of the department by telephone when any of the following events occur: (1) A release of gas from a pipeline, release of LNG or LPG, or release of gas from a LNG or LPG facility that results in: a. A death; b. Personal injury n…

(a) In addition to the emergency notification required in En 504.05, a utility shall also report in writing to the department any incident occurring in connection with its facilities and services, as follows:(1) In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 191.9 and § 191.15, a utility shall r…

(a) For any utility that serves a single municipality or serves fewer than 2,500 customers, emergency response times shall be limited to within 30 minutes. (b) Reports on emergency response times shall be submitted as follows:(1) For any response time in excess of 30 minutes, the…

(a) Unless it obtains a waiver from the department pursuant to En 201.05, each utility shall provide and install at its own expense and shall continue to own, maintain, and operate, all equipment necessary for the regulation and measurement of gas to its customers. (b) When addit…

(a) Each utility shall take all necessary steps to have each of its meters accurately measure the flow of gas. (b) All new meters shall be inspected for measurement accuracy before being installed on a customer's premises. (c) All meters removed from service which are to be reins…

(a) Each utility shall test all meters for accuracy at both check flow and open flow, as found, prior to adjustment or repair, except for meters removed from service specifically for known leakage, damage, tampering, or non-registration, and meters that have been selected for ret…

(a) Utilities shall not be required to test meters with a purchase year which indicates an age of 10 years or less provided that the meters belong to a group identified in En 505.03(e) demonstrating an accuracy rate of 96 percent or better, and the utility has the manufacturer's …

(a) When a customer requests a meter test, a utility shall follow the following procedures: (1) The utility shall test the accuracy of the customer's meter within 15 days from the time the request is made; (2) If the meter has been tested at no charge during the preceding 6 month…

(a) When a customer's meter or remote read device has been found to be fast or slow, as a result of a meter test made by or on behalf of the utility and at the request of the customer, an adjustment shall be made to the customer's bill. (b) If the meter or remote read device is f…

(a) Each utility shall maintain the equipment and facilities necessary for accurately testing all types and sizes of meters employed for the measurement of gas to its customers, unless the department finds that alternate arrangements made to have such testing done elsewhere will …