WHO KNEW Hanover Community Power Offers So Much More than Lower Rates?

When the Community Power Coalition of NH (CPCNH), of which Hanover Community Power (HCP) is a part, debuted in May of 2023, it offered electricity rates which were lower than Liberty Utilities and Eversource—the two most common providers to Hanover residents. Hanover’s Energy Aggregation Plan (EAP) mandated that CPCNH electricity rates had to be lower before Hanover customers could be enrolled. In fact, lower rates are a big reason many NH communities chose to become part of CPCNH. However, lower rates don’t tell the full story.

Perhaps the most important component of community power programs like CPCNH is the concept of choice. With public utilities, you pay whatever they tell you to, your electricity comes from whatever source the utility decides, and because public utilities are investor-owned and generally big corporations, shareholder interests are put above the health, resiliency and needs of the many communities served by the utility.

The opposite is true for community power. CPCNH is owned by its members and is a nonprofit. So, right from the start, CPCNH has goals that differ radically from investor-owned utilities. “Profits”, under CPCNH, are labeled “surplus” and will eventually go back to the member communities, after CPCNH builds sufficient contingency reserves. Over time, as CPCNH grows, member communities will be able to use this surplus for programs to help community members weatherize their homes and make them more energy efficient. Surplus funds could be used to invest in a local solar project which would help drive down electricity costs and make our community more resilient and less dependent on imported energy sources. Surplus dollars will also help us build a reserve fund that functions to keep rates stable during times of price fluctuations. As a community, we choose where to invest surplus funds.

With CPCNH, consumers have a choice over the cost of their electricity and the source of that electricity. If cost is your overriding concern, you can choose the most basic level and pay the least amount. At Hanover Community Power, all residents join at 33% renewables. From here, you can opt down to the state default level of 25% renewables, or you can opt up to 50% or 100%. Each time you opt up, the cost of your electricity rises marginally, but you have the satisfaction of knowing that your choice is making energy production cleaner for everyone. In the long run, your choice to opt up will bring the cost of electricity down for everyone.

Community power is about controlling our own future. It’s about making smart choices to use the cleanest and least expensive sources of electricity available: renewable energy. It’s realizing that members of our community have different needs and aspirations and making it possible for people to choose what’s best for them. It’s about taking the long view, and making sure that our community has a healthy, resilient and sustainable future to look forward to.