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Funny math garbles N.H. governor’s take on electricity rates – The Boston Globe

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Funny math garbles N.H. governor’s take on electricity rates – The Boston Globe


“While other states have let politics drive policy, New Hampshire has always put the ratepayer’s bottom line first,” he said. “We’ve let markets, not government, drive innovation.”

Sununu said costs had increased much more over the past seven years in other New England states than they had in New Hampshire. He shared a chart showing electricity rates for residential customers had risen 70 percent more in Maine than in New Hampshire, 83 percent more in Massachusetts, 94 percent more in Connecticut, and 127 percent more in Rhode Island.

The actual differences documented in the underlying data, however, aren’t nearly as stark as Sununu’s statement would suggest. His statement also had a glaring omission.

Although the statement quotes New Hampshire Senate President Jeb Bradley, a Republican, as saying New Hampshire’s approach is “unlike the policies of our neighboring states in the region,” it fails to mention one of those neighbors: Vermont.

Including the Green Mountain State would have painted a different picture: Vermont’s electricity rates have risen more slowly and remain lower than New Hampshire’s rates, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration, the same source Sununu’s office cited for data on electricity rates in the other states.

Sam Evans-Brown, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Clean Energy New Hampshire, said Vermont has been aggressive in promoting renewable energy policies.

“If energy and climate goals were driving this trend, why is Vermont so affordable?” he said.

Consumer Advocate Donald M. Kreis said Vermont has pursued aggressive decarbonization policies but hasn’t restructured its electric utilities the way other New England states have.

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“Vermont’s electric utilities are still vertically integrated monopolies, whereas in New Hampshire customers can buy electricity from competitive suppliers or community power aggregation programs,” Kreis said. “It would be interesting to figure out whether the EIA data suggests that one of those approaches is superior to the other. I haven’t done the necessary analysis.”

The governor’s office referred questions about Sununu’s statement to New Hampshire Department of Energy Deputy Commissioner Christopher J. Ellms Jr., who did not answer when asked why Vermont had been excluded.

Sununu’s statement lists clean energy mandates in Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut as policies that have been blamed for driving prices higher, and it presupposes that lower electricity rates in New Hampshire would be attributable to the state’s market-driven strategy.

“If anything is clear,” Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine said, “it is that New England as a whole would benefit from adopting our approach.”

Officials didn’t just cherry-pick data by excluding Vermont. They also muddled data for the states they included by using a calculation that exaggerated differences between the states.

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When asked how the percentages from Sununu’s statement were calculated, Ellms outlined an unusual methodology. He didn’t calculate the percentage by which each state’s rate increased. Instead, he calculated each state’s increase in terms of cents per kilowatt hour, then directly compared those price increases across state lines.

For example, residential electricity rates rose 5.28 cents in New Hampshire and 9.66 cents in Massachusetts during the relevant timeframe, according to the EIA data Ellms cited. Based on those numbers alone, his methodology concluded the increase in Massachusetts was 83 percent more than the increase in New Hampshire.

But that methodology failed to account for differences in each state’s baseline. In New Hampshire, the 5.28-cent increase represented a rise of 28.6 percent. In Massachusetts, the 9.66-cent increase represented a rise of 49.3 percent.

That means electricity rates actually increased 20.7 percentage points more in Massachusetts than in New Hampshire.

That difference is notable, but it’s based on snapshots taken from just two months. Ellms said the starting data came from the month Sununu took office, January 2017, and the ending data was from February 2024, the most recent available. None of the ups and downs in between were factored into the analysis.

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Evans-Brown said state officials portrayed New Hampshire price trends as if they are meaningfully different from other New England states, but that’s an artifact of a cherry-picked timeframe.

“Comparing two points in time in this way just invites spurious conclusions,” he said, adding that the monthly data is noisy and New Hampshire is “right in the middle of the pack.”

Ellms said his methodology worked just fine and the press release accurately reflected how rates have increased in other states relative to New Hampshire.

“No matter how you present it, the underlying data clearly show that New Hampshire’s electric rates have increased substantially less than the other states’ rates,” he said in an email. “Your implication otherwise might be meant to undermine New Hampshire’s relative success compared to the other states but the fact remains that New Hampshire’s ratepayer focus has significantly contributed to these positive outcomes and will continue to do so.”

Recent history suggests, however, that relatively low rates are far from inevitable in New Hampshire. There is a lot of volatility in the monthly EIA data, and New Hampshire’s rates aren’t always lower than its neighbors — in fact, New Hampshire had the highest rate of any New England state twice in 2023 and five times in 2022, according to EIA data.

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Electric rates in New Hampshire skyrocketed in summer 2022, driven by the high cost of natural gas amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. New Hampshire had the highest rate in New England from August 2022 to January 2023, according to EIA data. As natural gas prices fell, the electricity rate in New Hampshire began to plummet.

Sununu blamed President Biden’s administration for high energy costs in 2022, citing Biden’s decision in 2021 to cancel the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Clean energy advocates contended the underlying problem is New England states are overly dependent on natural gas to produce electricity.


Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter. Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.





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New Hampshire

Massachusetts couple indicted for illegally voting in New Hampshire

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Massachusetts couple indicted for illegally voting in New Hampshire


A Massachusetts couple is facing charges after investigators say they illegally voted in a trio of elections in New Hampshire in recent years.

A Merrimack County grand jury returned six indictments this week charging both Joshua Urovitch, 56, and Lisa Urovitch, 54, with three felony counts of wrongful voting, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella.

Formella said the indictments allege that the Urovitches voted multiple times in Concord, New Hampshire, despite living in Ashland, Massachusetts.

The Urovitches are accused of illegally voting in general elections in November 2020 and November 2022, as well as a Concord School District Election in November 2022.

An arraignment date for the Urovitches is set for Oct. 7 in Merrimack County Superior Court.

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New Hampshire

University of New Hampshire police investigating alleged drugging, sexual assault on campus

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University of New Hampshire police investigating alleged drugging, sexual assault on campus


Crime

University of New Hampshire campus police is reminding students to stay vigilant and trust their instincts.

The exterior of Thompson Hall on the campus of the University of New Hampshire. Jim Davis for The Boston Globe

Campus police at the University of New Hampshire are investigating two recent sexual assault cases, the department said in a statement.

The first alleged incident, a sexual assault, happened between Sept. 20 at 10:30 p.m. and Sept. 21 at 3 a.m. in the suspect’s dorm building on campus, the statement said. Police said the victim believes the suspect may have drugged their drink. The victim and the suspect were known to each other, police said. 

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The second reported incident happened Sept. 19, police said. Another victim said the same suspect may have drugged them as well, the report said. Police did not say if the second victim was assaulted.

University Police said Wednesday that they had identified a person of interest in the case, but will not share any further information “to protect the integrity of the investigation” and protect those impacted by the incidents.

“Survivors are never responsible for the offenders’ behavior,” the statement said. 

While the investigation is underway, UNH police reminded students to stay safe, trust their instincts, call a safety escort on campus, and utilize campus resources if necessary.





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‘Gonna kill this kid’: N.H. mom was depriving son of nourishment before his death, texts reveal

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‘Gonna kill this kid’: N.H. mom was depriving son of nourishment before his death, texts reveal


‘Gonna kill this kid’: N.H. mom was depriving son of nourishment before his death, texts reveal

A New Hampshire mother on Thursday pleaded guilty to murder in the 2021 death of her five-year-old son, Elijah Lewis.

Danielle Dauphinais of Merrimack appeared in Hillsborough County Superior Court on Thursday morning, shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit. She pleaded guilty to second degree murder and two counts witness tampering in the death of her young son.

“Elijah was assaulted, starved, isolated, and neglected. He was tortured,” a prosecutor said.

The state said Elijah died between Sept. 21, 2021 and Sept. 24, 2021.

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The boy was found face down in the fetal position in a shallow hole at Ames Nowell State Park in Abington.

According to prosecutors, had this case gone to trial, Dr. Richard Atkinson, who was at the burial site and conducted Elijah’s autopsy, would have said, “Elijah died as a result of violence and neglect including facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment, and pressure ulcers.”

“I am sick to my stomach and I can’t believe what I heard today. That’s not the person I knew,” MJ Morrison, Elijah’s aunt, said after Thursday’s court hearing.

Dauphinais was indicted by a grand jury on murder charges in connection with her son’s death in April 2022. Dauphinais and her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, were originally charged with witness tampering and child endangerment. Both remain in prison.

Prosecutors said Thursday that the investigation into Elijah’s whereabouts began after Dauphinais gave birth to a baby boy and Stapf dropped the child off at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester.

The Division of Children, Youth, and Families began questioning Dauphinais about where Elijah was.

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Prosecutors said she told them “Elijah was gone” and then said he was living with her sister Tracy in California. Her sister later told the social worker and investigators that Dauphinais asked her to lie and say Elijah was with her in California, but she refused.

According to cell phone records, Dauphinais was confronted again by DCYF workers, at which point she told them she sent Elijah to her brother’s house in Texas.

Her brother, Bruce, told DCYF workers he had custody of Elijah since September, not knowing it was more than a wellness check, but couldn’t provide any information on him like where he went to school. He was told to call them back but never did.

DCYF then went to Merrimack Police to report Elijah as missing.

Text messages between Dauphinais and Stapf revealed she was depriving the child of nourishment, prosecutors said in court.

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“I gave him a small bowl of cereal so he would shut the **** up. But that wasn’t enough. He said he wants food and wants me to stop starving him because it’s not nice,” read one message.

“I’m gonna kill this kid joe, ****ing screaming at the top of his lungs ****ing water,” said another from Dauphinais to Stapf.

Prosecutors outlined how and when the couple buried Elijah.

Merrimack Police tracked the couple’s cell phones, finding that the pair traveled through Boston to Abington, 14 hours after investigators started asking questions.

Prosecutors said Stapf buried Elijah’s body and put a white birch tree over his grave. Then, the couple drove to Mohegan Sun, had a bite to eat, went to a country music concert and boarded a bus to New York City.

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The two were arrested at a subway station in the Bronx.

Cristee Chasse went to the courthouse on Thursday wearing a shirt that read, ‘Justice for Elijah.’

“Absolutely disgusting, disgusting. And that could have been prevented. A lot of this, according to what happened today and what I heard, happened after the fact, that he went to the doctors and bruising was seen,” said Chasse.

Prosecutors also said that Elijah weighed 32 pounds at his last and only doctor’s visit with his mother, and weighed 19 pounds when his body was found in the state park.

“I’m just hoping she gets the absolute maximum. That’s what Elijah deserves,” added Morrison.

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Dauphinais is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 25.

She could face between 58 years to life in prison.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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