From Policy to Progress: CPCNH’s 2026 Legislative Outlook

The 2026 legislative session presents pivotal opportunities to strengthen energy affordability, uphold local control, and advance market innovation across New Hampshire’s electricity system. For the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH), public advocacy is rooted in a simple goal: advancing policy that enables communities to thrive through fair market competition, affordability, and community-driven energy solutions.

CPCNH’s Regulatory and Legislative Affairs Committee (RLAC) evaluates legislation through a framework grounded in three pillars from its 2025–2026 Legislative Platform:

• Advancing community benefits through non-discriminatory access to the electric system

• Increasing innovation through local control, equity, and community development

• Enforcing laws and market rules with transparency and public accountability

This framework guides the Coalition’s bill positions — whether to Support, Oppose, Engage, or Monitor — based on how closely a bill aligns with CPCNH’s mission and platform. These positions, along with summaries, testimony, and related materials, are available through CPCNH’s Legislation Tracker.

For more on the Coalition’s legislative platform and regulatory work, visit the Advocacy Page, or sign up for action alerts.

Policy Areas of Focus in 2026

Advancing Distributed Energy & Storage

Several CPCNH-supported bills this session aim to enable market-based innovation at the customer level.

HB 1290 would establish a framework for customer-owned energy storage systems, removing barriers to behind-the-meter flexibility and participation.

HB 1718 would allow distributed storage paired with generation to be eligible for net metering compensation, supporting more granular market access and customer-side grid value.

HB 1534 and HB 1733 clarify default service cost allocation to ensure that CPA customers are not unfairly burdened with costs incurred by utilities serving their own default service electricity supply customer base.

These proposals reflect CPCNH’s call to modernize state law and regulatory practices around wholesale load settlement, retail market access, and non-utility ownership of distributed energy resources.

“Removing technical and financial barriers to behind-the-meter innovation is critical to a modern, equitable energy grid,” said Deana Dennis, Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs at CPCNH.

Expanding Energy Access & Affordability

CPCNH continues to support legislation that broadens participation in the clean energy transition, particularly for renters and low-to-moderate income (LMI) households.

SB 540-FN would authorize small-scale “plug-in” solar systems, such as balcony or window units, giving more people access to renewable generation regardless of property ownership.

HB 1742 would protect customers enrolled in net metering from losing credits due to inadvertent enrollment into third-party suppliers, with provisions for retroactive credit restoration.

“Clean energy access shouldn’t depend on whether you own a roof,” said Dennis. “Plug-in solar gives more Granite Staters a chance to participate in the energy transition.”

Local Control & Planning

Several bills directly support municipalities and Community Power Aggregations (CPAs) in implementing locally approved energy strategies:

SB 590, co-developed by CPCNH and the Town of Peterborough, would clarify that municipalities may use discretionary reserves using locally approved revolving funds for energy services tied to their CPA plans.

SB 440 would streamline the adoption of local clean energy finance districts, enabling more towns to implement clean energy projects.

These proposals support municipal autonomy, community-scale innovation, and the use of existing statutory tools to expand affordability and local energy innovation.

Market Integrity & Renewable Standards

CPCNH supports a competitive, innovation-driven electricity market and opposes efforts that weaken policy frameworks designed to reduce emissions and incentivize renewable energy production.

HB 1002 would eliminate a long-standing local option to exempt solar energy systems from local property taxes. CPCNH strongly opposes this measure.

HB 1535 restores Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) eligibility for electricity generated from landfill gas and biodigesters, correcting an exclusion that impacted New Hampshire’s ability to fully value biogenic methane.

HB 1542 and HB 1721 propose eliminating or phasing out the state’s RPS through mechanisms such as a $0 alternative compliance payment (ACP) or limited REC eligibility. CPCNH strongly opposes both.

These proposals would reverse decades of progress in building a fair and functional market for renewable energy in New Hampshire.

“Without a functional RPS and ACP structure, New Hampshire risks disrupting the market jeopardizing investments already made,” said Clifton Below, Chair of CPCNH’s RLAC.

Engaged Advocacy: Shaping Policy Beyond Support or Opposition

Not all legislation fits neatly into a support or oppose category. CPCNH often takes an Engage stance — offering expertise, education, and testimony to help shape complex proposals.

SB 447 is a wide-ranging bill that includes expanded group net metering access, utility ownership of advanced nuclear facilities, and multi-state power purchase agreements. CPCNH supports certain provisions, including improved access to community solar for LMI customers, but raises concerns about cost-shifting and monopoly expansion risks.

SB 537 would repeal the Public Utilities Commission’s authority to approve alternative regulation frameworks. CPCNH is engaging to support tools that improve public utility regulation in New Hampshire.

SB 597 would require the PUC to open an investigative proceeding to evaluate whether it is in the public interest to transition the state’s electric and natural gas utilities to a performance-based regulatory model. CPCNH is supportive of the concept of performance-based regulation as a means to improve the effectiveness of public utility regulation and specifically, to better align utility incentives with broader societal goals such as affordability, reliability, innovation, and customer choice.

Regulatory Results: Turning Policy into Practice

CPCNH’s legislative platform is reinforced by its results in the regulatory arena, where advocacy is directly improving conditions for communities and customers.

The Coalition uncovered load settlement errors at Eversource and Unitil of more than $7.1 million that if left undiscovered could have led to improper recovery of millions in costs from CPCNH customers. In a subsequent docket, CPCNH’s regulatory engagement helped prevent $2.5 million in unjustified charges to Eversource default service customers.

In 2025, CPCNH successfully advocated for six-month reconciliation cycles for all major utilities’ default service rates — a reform that improves price accuracy  and enhances transparency.

“These decisions demonstrate the value of engaging in regulatory issues at the Public Utilities Commission ,” added Below.

These outcomes show that CPCNH’s public advocacy can drive change not only in statute, but also in how the energy system is operated and governed for the benefit of all.

Community Power Is Legislative Power

CPCNH’s 2026 legislative strategy reflects its mission to promote the general welfare and economic vitality of New Hampshire’s cities and towns. Through targeted engagement, collaborative policy design, and principled advocacy, the Coalition is shaping a future rooted in local control, equitable participation, and market-based innovation.

To explore CPCNH’s positions or take action:

• Visit the Advocacy Page

• Explore the Bill Tracker Tool

• Sign up for alerts to stay engaged with CPCNH’s legislative and regulatory work