Electricity rates to change in August for NH customers

New Hampshire’s utility companies are expected to change their rates for electricity starting on August 1. Energy costs could go up for some and down for others.

The state’s three investor-owned utilities – Eversource, Unitil, and Liberty – are expected to adopt similar rates, roughly 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Those are known as “supply” rates, and make up around half of a monthly energy bill.

That rate is largely determined by the price utility companies are paying generators for power and companies don’t profit off of those costs. The supply rate changes twice a year, in August and February.

For Eversource and Liberty customers, the change will be a hike from current rates. Average Eversource customers could pay about $14 more per month, and Liberty customers could pay about $8more each month. Eversource’s rates are not final, with state regulators asking for more information by July 10th.

For Unitil customers, the new rate is lower than the utility’s current rate, a drop of about a dollar per month.

The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative’s rate is about two cents lower than the other utilities, at 8.6 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s down from their current rate, a decrease they say will save customers roughly between $8 and $16 a month.

For customers with the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, who now make up more than 15% of active accounts in the state, according to that organization, rates are going up slightly. But their basic rate will be lower than the investor-owned utilities and the same as the Cooperative’s. Their rate for power with 50% renewable content is also lower than the three investor-owned utilities.

Eversource customers will also see an increase on their distribution charge, which represents the cost of delivering electricity. That could be about an extra $9 a month.

In 2025, customers would see an additional increase of about $13.

The company says that increase is due to the costs of more frequent and unpredictable storms, upgrades for reliability, and efforts to strengthen the energy system as it ages and new technology comes online.