Ayotte Inaction Leading to Higher Energy Costs
- Amplify NH
- Sep 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 9
Here in New Hampshire, hardworking Granite Staters keep our state running. But Republicans in Concord are once again acting against working families’ best interests.
Governor Kelly Ayotte’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved a request from Eversource that supports new rate hikes, causing New Hampshire ratepayers facing the highest “basic” electric rates in the nation. By refusing to stand up against corporations for working families, Republican lawmakers are driving up costs and squeezing our families harder and harder. Let’s take a look:
Ayotte’s Public Utilities Commission Signs Off on Skyrocketing Electricity Rates for Granite Staters
In July, the PUC approved a request from Eversource, the state’s largest electricity provider, that will allow the company to raise fees and change how it will calculate yearly rate increase requests through 2029.
As part of this deal, Eversource will raise its residential customer charge, the flat fee all customers pay regardless of energy usage, by $6 per household to just under $20 per month and allow it to increase by $2 per year through 2029 until it reaches $43 dollar per month.
Democratic lawmakers spoke out against this rate hike, noting that on top of other serious economic crises, these increased rates will only further drive up cost of living here in New Hampshire, placing a strain on working Granite Staters.
“This rate hike falls on top of our state’s housing crisis, unaffordable and inaccessible child care, and then the skyrocketing costs for everyday goods as well. Basically, the GOP is squeezing Granite Staters’ wallets from every single direction; that is not how we create a New Hampshire that supports the next generation,” said State Senator David Watters in response to the hikes.
And this isn’t the first time Granite Staters have been left in the lurch by raising electric costs. In 2022, while hardworking people struggled just to pay their bills, New Hampshire’s energy monopoly nearly doubled our electric bills and made billions.
Granite Staters worked hard to build an economy that’s of, by and for us and our families – but our lawmakers continue to give the ultra-rich a leg up, while setting the rest of us up for failure.
Advocacy Groups Take Action
Following the PUC’s decision to allow Eversource to raise its fees, local consumer advocate groups and state agencies are taking action, asking the PUC to reverse its decision. The Office of the Consumer Advocate, the New Hampshire Department of Energy, and the state’s AARP chapter all filed rehearing motions on Aug. 22, which is the first step to requesting an appeal on this decision.
Despite the potential for an appeal, Granite State families are already bracing for impact. While our lawmakers are supposed to protect our communities against such corporate greed, they sit idly by while a group of Ayotte-appointed decision makers hand Eversource’s CEO a blank check. And Granite Staters aren’t fooled by Kelly Ayotte’s contradictory comments against the PUC’s decision.
“Governor Ayotte says she wants to support the next generation of Granite Staters, but her actions tell a different story,” said Brittni Widdick, a New Hampshire mother that has been impacted by price hikes . “Her actions are causing young families to be pushed from their homes and priced out of their communities. Right now, we are paying so much and getting nothing in return.”
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Thank you,
Emma Carroll
Digital Director, Amplify NH