New Hampshire § 374-G-5 - Section 374-G:5 Rate Filing; Authorization.

§ 374-G-5. Section 374-G:5 Rate Filing; Authorization.

I. A New Hampshire electric public utility may seek rate recovery for its portion of investments in distributed energy resources from the commission by making an appropriate rate filing. At a minimum, such filing shall include the following: (a) A detailed description and economic and environmental evaluation of the proposed investment. (b) A discussion of the costs, benefits, and risks of the proposal with specific reference to the factors listed in paragraph II, including an analysis of the costs, benefits, and rate implications to the participating customers, to the company's default service customers, and to the utility's distribution customers. (c) A description of any equipment or installation specifications, solicitations, and procurements it has or intends to implement. (d) A showing that the utility has used a competitive bidding process to reasonably minimize the costs of the project to its customers. (e) A showing that it has made reasonable efforts to involve local businesses in its program. (f) Evidence of compliance with any applicable emission limitations. (g) A copy of any customer contracts or agreements to be executed as part of the program. II. Prior to authorizing a utility's recovery of investments made in distributed energy resources, the commission shall determine that the utility's investment and its recovery in rates, as proposed, are in the public interest. Determination of the public interest under this section shall include giving a balanced consideration and proportional weight to each of the following factors: (a) The effect on the reliability, safety, and efficiency of electric service. (b) The efficient and cost-effective realization of the purposes of the renewable portfolio standards of RSA 362-F and the restructuring policy principles of RSA 374-F:3. (c) The energy security benefits of the investment to the state of New Hampshire. (d) The environmental benefits of the investment to the state of New Hampshire. (e) The economic development benefits and liabilities of the investment to the state of New Hampshire. (f) The effect on competition within the region's electricity markets and the state's energy services market. (g) The costs and benefits to the utility's customers, including but not limited to a demonstration that the company has exercised competitive processes to reasonably minimize costs of the project to ratepayers and to maximize private investment in the project. (h) Whether the expected value of the economic benefits of the investment to the utility's ratepayers over the life of the investment outweigh the economic costs to the utility's ratepayers. (i) The costs and benefits to any participating customer or customers. III. Authorized and prudently incurred investments shall be recovered under this section in a utility's base distribution rates as a component of rate base, and cost recovery shall include the recovery of depreciation, a return on investment, taxes, and other operating and maintenance expenses directly associated with the investment, net of any offsetting revenues received by the utility directly attributable to the investment. The utility may recover all reasonable costs associated with the filing, whether or not the application is approved by the commission. IV. The commission may add an incentive to the return on equity component as it deems appropriate to encourage investments in distributed energy resources. V. The commission shall approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions a utility rate filing under this section within 90 days of its filing. The commission may extend this deadline to 6 months at its discretion for any filing involving an investment in excess of $1,000,000. The commission may also extend the deadline at its discretion for failure of the applicant to respond to data requests on an expedited timeline.