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Supreme Court reverses PUC ruling

By Adam Urquhart - Staff Writer | May 24, 2018

CONCORD – The New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed a 2016 Public Utilities Commission ruling, which had denied Eversource Energy the right to invest in a natural gas pipeline project known as Access Northeast.

The court ruled electric utilities such as Eversource should be able to invest in pipeline capacity, and sent the matter back to the PUC.

Eversource officials applauded Tuesday’s 3-1 ruling, and said they will be revisiting the PUC’s denial of the power purchase agreement with Hydro Quebec. They maintain this agreement would bring clean, affordable power to customers via the controversial Northern Pass transmission line.

“This decision has broad implications for New Hampshire’s energy future at a time when the region has a critical need for additional sources of reliable and affordable energy,” comments provided by Eversource spokeswoman Kaitlyn Woods state. “For example, there is little question that customers in New Hampshire and the region will benefit from an increased supply of natural gas to be used to create electricity.”

The ruling states PUC regulators misinterpreted state law regarding energy deregulation in terms of separating the transmission of electricity from the generation of electricity. The court’s decision was mainly based on the words “should and “shall” appearing in different parts of state law. The word ‘should’ permits discretion, whereas the word ‘shall’ establishes a mandatory duty.

Woods said that the Supreme Court “got it right.”

“The primary purpose of electric industry restructuring is to ensure reliability and lower energy costs for our customers,” she said.

In a joint statement, Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tracy Hatch and Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Michael Skelton reacted favorably to the ruling. They said this decision has significant ramifications for energy policy in New Hampshire, as well as throughout New England.

“In fact, the agreement that would have reserved New Hampshire’s fair share of the power flowing over Northern Pass was struck down by the PUC using the same faulty rationale. We hope this decision sends a clear signal to the PUC and the (Site Evaluation Committee) that rate relief for customers should be a top priority going forward.”

“We thought the PUC was wrong at the time and we’re thrilled that the court’s decision basically said the same thing: that cost is a factor and needs to be part of the equation.” “We’re very happy and this is a positive step moving forward for New Hampshire,” Hatch added.

She said the chamber sees this as an “overt recognition that cost is a factor” that needs to be taken into consideration in any sort of power agreement or project going into effect.

Deliberations with the Site Evaluation Committee are scheduled for 9 a.m. today to rehear the Northern Pass application.

“The PUC’s denial, which led to removal of the agreement and its associated benefits from the New Hampshire siting application, was based on the same flawed legal analysis that the Supreme Court overturned,” Woods said.

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