Marianne Horn

Dear Members of NH House Science, Technology & Energy Committee, I am writing to express strong support for HB 760. HB 760 protects consumers from the emerging anti-competitive threat posed by regulators and utilities to shift utility supply costs to all customers through compulsory stranded cost charges. The Public Utilities Commission is directing utilities to take on 30-100% commodity market price exposure over the next year, while proposing any cost overruns be recovered through charges paid by all customers. Shifting utility supply costs into stranded cost charges would force Competitive Supply & Community Power customers to subsidize utility supply cost overruns. The cost shifting proposal is anti-competitive and would undermine NH’s competitive electric market by making it impossible for 3rd parties and Community Power to compete on a level playing field with artificially low utility supply rates. HB 760 would ensure any over- or under-collections associated with utility market exposure will be borne by utility supply customers, not shifted to Community Power and the market. Market competition and customer choice drive cost savings & value that benefits NH. The bill benefits NH by protecting competitive market options and choices for customers, which drive cost savings. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Sincerely, Marianne Horn Kensington, NH