We have been reminding our readers since October that this winter’s energy costs would be high, but it seems that many New Hampshire residents forgot this fact. Utility companies have also been reminding their consumers of the same thing, but that did not keep consumers from being shocked when it happened. While many consumers filed complaints with the state, there is not much officials can do.
The Public Utilities Commission is a governing body that regulates the rates and services of public utilities, such as energy. But it only regulates rates, it does not set them. The PUC’s main function is simply to make sure that the bidding process on energy is fair and transparent.
Many people in New Hampshire are shocked that energy costs have increased greatly, some doubling in the last three months. Many citizens are paying energy bills that are as big – or bigger – than their mortgages. Because of this, the PUC has received twice as many complaints this year than last year at the same time.
One of the main causes of the energy spike is lack of pipeline capacity for liquid natural gas. Liquid natural gas is cheaper than it has been for years, leading many consumers to think that energy prices should go down accordingly. While it may seem reasonable to assume that cheap fuel would lead to less expensive energy for consumers, it is not the case. Cheap fuel only translates into inexpensive energy if there is a sufficient mechanism of distribution – in this case, sufficient pipeline capacity.
Alec O’Meara of Unitil, the region’s foremost energy distributor, broke down the energy situation saying, “There’s a little bit of a bottleneck now in terms of how much gas can come into the region, so it’s a supply-and-demand situation.” He went on to clarify that the real issue is the capacity of the natural gas pipeline, not the actual supply of natural gas.
O’Meara also explained that the energy market rates for this winter were set taking into consideration the high cost of energy during last winter’s polar vortex. The combination of high market rates, lack of pipeline capacity, and another cold winter are all factors that have caused energy prices to soar.
As we have been saying for a long time now, the only way to get out of our energy crisis is to increase our energy infrastructure and diversify our sources of energy. As always, we encourage you to support energy diversity and projects, such as the Northern Pass, that will increase energy infrastructure throughout the region.