HB 761 would direct the New Hampshire Department of Energy to adopt rules governing the installation, interconnection, and use of customer energy storage systems. It also authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to approve tariffs and issue orders in adjudicated proceedings that are consistent with those rules, or to act in the absence of rules. The bill amends the state’s customer energy storage statute to shift rulemaking responsibility from the commission to the department while preserving the commission’s role in tariff approval and case-specific orders.
The bill also clarifies that the principles of net energy metering under RSA 362-A:9 apply to storage, and specifically states that the commission has authority to allow storage as part of net energy metering. In practical terms, this would create a clearer regulatory framework for utility customers who want to install battery or other energy storage systems, including how those systems interact with utility billing, interconnection, and net metering arrangements. The bill takes effect immediately upon passage.
Impact
HB 761 would amend RSA 374-H to define "department" as the Department of Energy and revise the existing customer energy storage provisions to require department rulemaking on storage systems. It would also preserve and clarify the Public Utilities Commission’s authority to approve tariffs and issue orders related to customer storage, including in the absence of adopted rules. The bill could affect utilities, distributed generation customers, solar-plus-storage projects, and other parties seeking to install behind-the-meter storage systems, while also influencing how net metering rules are applied to storage resources.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the limited available context, the bill appears generally supportive of customer energy storage and regulatory clarification rather than controversial in its stated purpose. There are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided materials, so no formal opposition or support can be identified from discussion history. The measure’s structure suggests an effort to streamline and modernize rules for storage deployment.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the allocation of regulatory authority between the Department of Energy and the Public Utilities Commission. The bill moves the primary rulemaking responsibility to the department while still allowing the commission to approve tariffs and issue orders, which could raise questions about agency jurisdiction, implementation details, and how much discretion the commission retains. Another possible issue is the explicit clarification that storage may be included in net energy metering, which could affect utility rate design and the treatment of customer-sited storage in billing and compensation.