Title XXXIV, Public Utilities

I. In this title: (a) "End user" means any telecommunications services customer that is not a telecommunications carrier or telecommunications public utility except that a telecommunications carrier or public utility shall be deemed to be an "end user" when such carrier uses a te…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission shall establish a 5.5 percent temporary rate surcharge to be made effective on January 1, 1990, for the retail electric rates of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, Inc., to be held in escrow in the manner provided in…

Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, no utility shall transport into the state of New Hampshire any low-level or high-level radioactive waste for disposal in New Hampshire.

I. The purpose of this section is to codify existing law on regulatory obligations of public utilities for the purchase, pursuant to applicable federal and state law and commission orders, of energy or energy and capacity from qualifying small power producers and qualifying cogen…

I. No earlier than July 1 and no later than July 15 of each year, each provider of electricity shall submit a report to the department of energy, in a form approved by the department of energy, documenting its compliance with the requirements of this chapter for the prior year. T…

Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, during the fixed rate term of the approved agreement or plan the commission shall not cause the allocation of base rate revenue responsibility among residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers in effect on September…

Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or order, the commission shall have no authority to impose or enforce any obligation on any excepted local exchange carrier that is not also applicable to all other excepted local exchange carriers, excluding providers of commercial mobile rad…

I. Upon the request of one or more electric distribution companies and after notice and hearing, the department of energy may authorize such company or companies to enter into multi-year purchase agreements with renewable energy sources for certificates, in conjunction with or in…

I. Standard tariffs providing for net energy metering shall be made available to eligible customer-generators by each electric distribution utility in conformance with net metering rules adopted and orders issued by the commission. Each net energy metering tariff shall be identic…

Any modifications to an approved agreement or plan, including its exhibits, made in accordance with such agreement or plan, which potentially could increase rates, fares or charges shall, in addition to any requirements set forth in such agreement or plan, require the approval of…

The department of energy shall annually, after the close of the fiscal year, ascertain the total of its expenses attributable to support of the public utilities commission and to performance of all duties and responsibilities transferred to the department from the public utilitie…

I. No public gas or electric utility, as defined in RSA 362:2, shall terminate any residential service without good cause and without providing the customer at least 10 days' written notice of the utility company's intent to terminate service. The notification shall be sent by re…

There shall be a public utilities commission, which shall be an independent agency administratively attached to the department of energy pursuant to RSA 21-G:10. The chair of the commission shall have the powers and duties set forth in RSA 21-G:9. The commission shall be composed…

If any commissioner shall violate any provision of RSA 363:8 or 363:9, he may be removed by the governor and council.

Each commissioner shall receive the annual salary prescribed by RSA 94:1-a, and reasonable expenses, including transportation, subject to the approval of the governor and council.

In addition to any other type of behavior or activity of a commissioner that is proscribed by RSA 363, a commissioner shall conduct himself and his affairs in accordance with a code of ethics that shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements: I. Avoidance of impro…

A commissioner may speak, write or lecture concerning the regulatory process in New Hampshire but shall be reimbursed only for actual expenses incurred therein.

No commissioner, or former executive director, finance director, or general counsel of the commission shall accept any employment with any utility under the control of the commission until one year after he or she shall become separated from the commission.

Any record, order, certificate, or other process, document, or paper, issued or made by the commission may be signed by such member of the staff as the commission may authorize for such purpose.

The commission shall have an official seal in such form as the commission may prescribe, and all copies of official documents and orders filed or deposited with or made by said commission, duly certified and authenticated by said seal, shall be received in evidence in any court i…

The commission shall be provided with an office in which its records, documents and books shall be kept, and with a suitable room in which it may hold hearings.

A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum to issue orders, and any hearing may be held or conducted by 2 commissioners or by a single commissioner.

No hearing, except in accident cases, shall be held or conducted by a single commissioner if any party whose interests may be affected shall, 5 days before the date of hearing, file a request in writing that the same be held or conducted by the full commission, or a majority ther…

The commission shall be the arbiter between the interests of the customer and the interests of the regulated utilities as provided by this title and all powers and duties provided to the commission by RSA 363 or any other provisions of this title shall be exercised in a manner co…

The commission shall issue a final order on all matters presented to it. Matters resolved by final order of the commission shall be exempt from RSA 541-A:29 and RSA 541-A:29-a, but shall be subject to federal and state time limitations applicable to specific matters. The transcri…

The commission's deliberative processes in adjudicatory proceedings held pursuant to RSA 541-A and investigations held pursuant to its authority under Title 33 shall be privileged and exempt from the public meeting, notice, and disclosure provisions of RSA 91-A. Decisions and ord…

The commission may confer and cooperate with any other state, federal, or local agency in any matter relating to its duties.

No commissioner shall sit upon the hearing of any question which the commissioner is to decide in a judicial capacity who would be disqualified for any cause, except exemption from service and knowledge of the facts involved gained in the performance of his official duties, to ac…

I. Any person who receives a notice of intent to terminate service pursuant to RSA 363-B:1 and believes such proposed termination to be unjustified may request, prior to the date specified in the termination notice, a conference with the utility company involved to review the bas…

I. The expenses thus ascertained shall be assessed against the public utilities and other entities described in this section in the manner provided in this chapter. The assessment shall be calculated by using the following revenue percentages, based on the prior calendar year: (a…

The members of the public utilities commission in office on August 1, 1979, shall continue in office as public utilities commissioners for the balance of their respective terms. Any member appointed prior to January 1, 1979, shall not be required to be a full-time employee and ma…

If at any time a commissioner shall be disqualified or unable to perform the duties of his office, the governor, upon application of the commission, may, with the consent of the council, appoint a special commissioner to act in his place during the period of the commissioner's di…

The commissioner so appointed shall be paid a reasonable compensation per day for his services, and his necessary expenses, to be allowed by the governor and council and paid from the state treasury.

Except as pertains to any end user of an excepted local exchange carrier or services provided to such end user, the commission may investigate all existing or proposed interstate rates, fares, charges, classifications and rules and regulations relating thereto, where any act ther…

When the same are found to be, in the opinion of the commission, unjust, unreasonable, unjustly discriminatory or otherwise in any respect in violation of the provisions of the act to regulate commerce, or of any other act of Congress, or in conflict with the rules and orders of …

The commission shall publish and file with the governor and council, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the appropriate standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives a report not later than December 1 of each odd num…

The commission may, from time to time, subject to the approval of the governor and council, publish such of its reports and orders and such statistics and other information concerning public utilities doing business in this state as the commission may deem to be of public interes…

I. In the exercise of the jurisdiction and performance of the duties prescribed by law, the commission shall have the power, subject to the state personnel regulations and within the limits of the appropriation for such purpose, to employ and fix the compensation of such regular …

I. The office of the consumer advocate shall be an independent agency administratively attached to the department of energy pursuant to RSA 21-G:10. The office shall consist of the following: (a) A consumer advocate, appointed by the governor and council, who shall be a qualified…

I. There is established the residential ratepayers advisory board which shall provide oversight of the office of the consumer advocate as established by RSA 363:28 and ensure that the consumer advocate shall focus exclusively on assuring that residential utility customers receive…

It shall be the duty of the department of energy to calculate the amount to be assessed against each such public utility and each other entity subject to assessment in accordance with RSA 363-A:1 and RSA 363-A:2. At the beginning of each fiscal year, the department of energy shal…

In each odd numbered year, the governor, with the advice and consent of the council following a public hearing before the council, shall appoint one commissioner to take office on July 1 of that year. Vacancies shall be filled in like manner for the unexpired term.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of state law, any electric or gas public utility may, prior to terminating residential service to a tenant or to a condominium owner, provide notice of the termination to the property owner, in the case of a tenant, or any associated condomini…

In this subdivision: I. "Individual customer data" means information that is collected as part of providing electric, natural gas, water, or related services to a customer that can identify, singly or in combination, that specific customer, including the name, address, account nu…

I. No service provider shall: (a) Share, disclose, or otherwise make accessible to any third party a customer's individual customer data, except as provided in paragraph V or upon the express consent of the customer. (b) Sell individual customer data for any purpose without the e…

When complaints to the department of energy are initiated by residential customers, the department shall provide to the consumer advocate access to the complaint, by paper or electronically, with the customer name blocked out, at the same time as the department forwards the compl…