Ayotte calls on federal regulators to refund New England consumers

(The Center Square) — New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte on Monday demanded that federal regulators return more than $1.5 billion to ratepayers across New England, including $150 million to New Hampshire, in response to a report showing regional utilities have been overcharging electric customers for years.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is considering a request from regional utility companies challenging a ruling ordering them to repay ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars dating back to 2011. The panel recently determined that utilities have been overcharging customers, after taking steps to reduce their profit margins for the next several years. 

“Granite Staters are paying way too much for electricity, and it’s unacceptable that utilities would attempt to block relief for ratepayers after overcharging them for more than a decade," Ayotte said in a statement. "New Hampshire joins our fellow New England states in calling for a rejection of this effort by utilities and the return of more than $150 million to ratepayers in our state."

"We’ll continue working to lower electric bills and hold utilities accountable when they try to boost their bottom lines instead of focusing on keeping rates as low as possible," she added.

Last week, the New Hampshire Department of Energy and Office of the Consumer Advocate joined other New England states in filing a motion to intervene in the case and urge regulators to reject the appeal from utilities.

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"New Hampshire’s Department of Energy and Office of the Consumer Advocate have joined with energy offices across New England to return these dollars to their rightful place: the homes and businesses across the region who have been paying inflated transmission rates for 15 years," Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine said in a statement.

Ayotte, one of only two Republican governors in the New England region, joined other leaders in a related proposal by power companies to significantly increase the amount of money they are allowed to keep as profits from monthly utility bills. 

The companies say they need the extra revenue to make crucial investments that help keep costs down and improve the reliability of the regional power grid. They've also cited increased cost from clean energy policies in many New England states.

"The ability to undertake this level of investment depends directly on access to capital on reasonable terms, which in turn depends on a regulatory framework that provides for an allowed ROE that adequately reflects current risks and capital market conditions," they wrote in a recent filing. 

To be sure, New England has some of the highest energy costs in the nation, which critics have attributed in part to resistance to expanding natural gas pipelines, and clean energy policies embraced by neighboring states like Massachusetts, they say, have driven up costs for consumers.