Section 374-F:7 Competitive Electricity Supplier Requirements.
I. Competitive energy suppliers are not public utilities pursuant to RSA 362:2, though a competitive energy supplier may seek public utility status from the commission if it so chooses. Notwithstanding a competitive energy supplier's non-utility status, the commission is authorized to establish requirements, excluding price regulation, for competitive electricity suppliers, including registration, registration fees, customer information, disclosure, standards of conduct, and consumer protection and assistance requirements. Unless electing to do so, an electricity supplier that offers or sells at retail to consumers within this state products and services that can lawfully be made available to such consumers by more than one supplier shall not, because of such offers or sales, be deemed to be a public utility as defined by RSA 362:2. These requirements shall be applied in a manner consistent with the restructuring principles of this chapter to promote competition among electricity suppliers.
II. Aggregators of electricity load that do not take ownership of power or other services and do not represent any supplier interest are not public utilities pursuant to RSA 362:2, but shall notify the commission of their intent to do business. Municipalities that aggregate electric power or energy services for their citizens pursuant to RSA 53-E are not public utilities pursuant to RSA 362:2.
III. The commission is authorized to assess fines against, revoke the registration of, and prohibit from doing business in the state, any competitive electricity supplier which violates the requirements of this section or RSA 362-F.
IV. As a condition of operation, for a 2-year interim period from the date that competition is implemented in one or more areas of the state, competitive energy suppliers and load aggregators shall submit to the jurisdiction of the commission for mediation and resolution of disputes between customers and competitive energy suppliers or aggregators. Municipalities that aggregate electric power or energy service for their citizens pursuant to RSA 53-E are not subject to this paragraph.
V. The commission shall adopt rules, under RSA 541-A, to implement this section.
Source. 1997, 298:19. 2007, 26:5, eff. July 10, 2007.