Twelve New Hampshire mayors, representing thousands of citizens wrote to Gov. Chris Sununu in May 2019, urging him to support a bill that would raise the cap on net metering to 5 megawatts.

They know that doing this would result in tremendous benefits from existing and potential renewable energy projects for our towns, schools, hospitals and businesses:

Control of energy costs, reflected in our utility bills, and taxes (we spend $6.1 billion yearly for energy that come from out-of-state); Economic growth – including local renewable energy jobs; Energy security; Environmental protection.

Gov. Sununu vetoed the bill. He claimed that net metering shifts costs to ratepayers. According to the NH Public Utilities Commission, he is wrong.

As a town councilor put it: “The town could have saved millions. Taxpayers would’ve seen their tax bills reduced significantly”. Senator Jeb Bradley put it this way: “I don’t think the state should tell towns how to deal with local issues.”

Nashua owns two hydropower projects, and they plan to install solar panels on a number of municipal buildings. Raising the net metering cap would greatly benefit the city and its taxpayers.

Another net metering bill, SB159, passed this year, with bipartisan support in both the NH Senate and House. But Gov. Sununu vetoed this bill too. The Senate overrode this veto, so it’s still alive. Now it’s up to the NH House.

Please urge your Representative to attend the Sept. 16 session, and vote to Override the veto of SB159.