New Hampshire Launches Retail Electric Shopping Website

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The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) launched a shopping portal on October 7 that provides ratepayers statewide with a site at which they can compare the products and prices offered by competitive retail electric power suppliers.

The website will solve a pressing problem, according to Amanda Noonan, director of the PUC’s Consumer Affairs Division, who explained, “Customers have been frustrated by the number of calls they need to make when considering the various offers from the suppliers registered to do business in New Hampshire.”

Using the new comparison shopping portal, customers select the type of customer they are (residential, commercial, or industrial), and then select their local distribution utility (Eversource, Liberty Utilities, NH Electric Cooperative, or Unitil). Based on those choices, customers then can scroll through the products and prices offered by competitive electric power suppliers in their service territories, and determine which offer would best meet their needs.

“This addition to the commission’s website will provide, for the first time, one-stop shopping for customers,” said Noonan. She went on to caution, “It’s important for customers to look at an offer carefully to make sure they understand the terms of the offer – such as whether the price is fixed or variable and the duration of the offer.”

Noonan also noted that purchasing energy through a competitive electric supplier may not be the right choice for all customers. “For example, the discount provided under the Electric Assistance Program, a bill assistance program for low income households, will not apply to the electricity purchased from a competitive supplier. Before choosing a competitive supplier, customers who participate in the Electric Assistance Program should look carefully at their bill[s] to determine what the savings will be and whether those savings will make up for the loss of the discount on the energy portion of the bill.”

Customers interested in one of the product offerings can connect to the competitive electric power supplier’s website using a direct link from the shopping page.

Environment + Energy Leader