Competition under electric deregulation some way off 

May. 30, 2001 
Associated Press Newswires 
Copyright 2001. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. 

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - In theory, New Hampshire's electric industry is 
deregulated and ready for competition. 

Rates are down for customers of Public Service Company of New Hampshire, the 
state's largest utility, but not because of competition. The rates were cut 
because of a deal struck between the governor and the utility, ending a long 
legal battle. 

So far, only two potential energy suppliers have registered with the Public 
Utilities Commission to sell electricity in the state, but neither is yet set 
up to do so.

The Campaign for Ratepayers Rights, which is pursuing a U.S. Supreme Court 
appeal to overturn the deregulation agreement, went to Merrimack County 
Superior Court last week to have the agreement invalidated.

The nonprofit group's lawsuit says the state deregulation law requires that 
customers have a choice of "viable suppliers," and despite two years of 
effort, there is still no choice.

Joshua Gordon, the lawyer who filed the suit for the group, said the PUC 
acknowledged in a letter to the group's president, Robert Backus, that there 
is no choice among electricity suppliers.

"Competition will not occur all at once, or appear solely as the result of 
regulatory actions taken or avoided. Markets need time to develop and 
emerge," the PUC wrote.

"We've gone through several years now and all kinds of litigation to get 
competition, and bailed out PSNH for $2 billion in the name of customer 
choice, and we still don't have it," Gordon said.

Rates have dropped 15 percent since last September for Public Service 
customers, and those rates will remain low because of the transition period 
factored into the state's bargain with the utility, said Amanda Noonan, the 
PUC's director of consumer affairs.

The transition period, planned originally for 33 months, has been extended by 
the Legislature to 57 months. Public Service rates will rise gradually during 
that time, the idea being that rate increases will spur consumers to find 
other electricity suppliers.

Noonan says she believes few companies will enter the market until those 
rates rise.