Energy-Efficiency Funds and Demand Response Programs, New Hampshire

Updated September 2008

Below you will find questions and answers regarding New Hampshire's utility energy efficiency programs, including options for load management, demand response, and distributed energy resources, and information about state-sponsored energy efficiency programs.

What public-purpose-funded energy efficiency programs are available in my state?

In 2002, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission allocated 1.8 mills per kWh of the state's systems benefits charge to fund energy efficiency programs implemented by the state's investor-owned utilities. Over $20 million was spent in 2007 across all program types (including low-income and residential). There are a number of commercial programs available for small and large businesses that are also appropriate for federal facilities.

Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) offers the following programs:

The Large Business Retrofit Program offers rebates and other incentives for energy-efficient technologies, including lighting, VFDs, and custom projects.
For new construction projects, the New Equipment and Construction Program offers technical assistance and rebates for energy efficient measures such as lighting, VFDs, HVACs and chillers.
The Request for Proposal Program solicits proposals for electrical energy efficiency projects to be implemented at the facilities of commercial and industrial PSNH customers with a demand of 350 kW or more. PSNH commercial and industrial customers, energy service companies, and other third-party service providers representing commercial and industrial customers are eligible to participate. The minimum project energy savings for this program is 100,000 kWh per year (which may be aggregated across multiple sites), and the minimum total project cost is $200,000.

National Grid (formerly Granite State Electric) offers a variety of energy efficiency programs:

The Existing Facility Incentives program provides rebates for energy-efficient lighting, motors, VSDs, HVAC equipment, compressed air systems, and other custom measures. The program also offers technical assistance in identifying, implementing, and evaluating energy efficiency opportunities.
The New Construction Incentives program is similar to the retrofit program above, but applies to new construction and major renovation projects, and provides up to 75% of the additional cost of efficiency upgrades.
Technical assistance is also offered for large business customers to identify and implement energy efficiency measures.

New Hampshire Electric Co-op offers the following programs:

The Large Business Energy Solutions program is open to customers with peak loads of 100 kW or greater. Prescriptive rebates are available for lighting conversions and controls, energy-efficient motors, variable frequency drives (VFDs), compressed air equipment and controls, and LED traffic light conversions. For custom projects, rebates cover the lesser of 35% of the installed cost or the amount to buy the project down to a two-year simple payback. A host of services, from audits to commissioning, are also offered. Similar rebates are available to new construction projects through the New Equipment and Construction program.
Energy use analyses and rebates of up to 50% of installed measure cost are also available for smaller customers through NHEC's Small Business Energy Solutions program.
SmartSTART is an alternative way to pay for energy-efficient lighting: rather than paying for costs up front, the cost for these projects is distributed on monthly electricity bills in a way that preserves monthly savings.

Both Northern Utilities and National Grid offer programs for their gas customers. Both companies, as members of GasNetworks, also offer rebates of up to $1,350 for high-efficiency gas-fired space and water heating equipment.

Northern Utilities offers the Energy Assesments program, in which large facilities (> 40,000 therms/yr.) receive a free walk-through audit followed by a 50% cost-shared (up to $7,500) scoping study to identify gas efficiency improvements. Installation of these retrofits are then cost-shared at 50%, up to $50,000 per master meter.

National Grid's Business Energy Efficiency Services for Gas Customers (formerly Keyspan) offers several gas efficiency programs, including the following:

Prescriptive rebates are provided for common controls measures, such as programmable thermostats, boiler reset controls, and steam traps.
High Efficiency Gas Heating and Water Heating Rebates provide cash rebates to help cover the cost difference between standard efficiency and high efficiency gas space- and water-heating equipment, such as furnaces, condensing unit heaters and direct fired heaters. Rebates are limited to 50 percent of equipment cost, capped at $100,000 per project.
The Energy Efficiency Engineering Co-Funding Program offers cost sharing up to 50% (limited to $10,000 per project) for engineering studies aimed at improving efficiency of gas.

What utility energy efficiency programs are available to me?

See above section for energy efficiency programs offered by utilities.

What load management/demand response options are available to me?

The Independent System Operator New England Inc. (ISO-NE) offers its Demand Response Programs, which provide payments to electricity users for load reductions (of as little as 100 kW), either by reducing usage or by operating on-site generation during periods of high demand. Customers may participate in the program through any participating member ("Enrolling Participant") of the New England Power Pool, such as a utility company, power marketer, or competitive energy supplier. ISO-NE offers several options:

The Real-Time Demand Response Program provides an opportunity for customers to receive payments for voluntarily responding to system emergencies. Participants are paid for actual load reductions, based on the higher of the real time locational marginal price (LMP) or a guaranteed floor price ($350/MWh for customers that can respond within 2 hours and $500/MWh for those that can respond within 30 minutes). Participants may receive additional incentives by qualifying as an installed capacity (ICAP) resource for their load reduction capacity, although response to system emergencies then becomes mandatory. In order to facilitate notification of emergency events and verification of load curtailments, customers must have an approved Internet-Based Communication System (IBCS) installed.
The Real-Time Profile Response Program provides remuneration to customers without interval metering for voluntarily responding to system emergencies. The enrolling participant must have the physical ability to interrupt loads at the customer's facility within 30-minutes' notice of a system emergency. Payment for verified load reductions is based on the real-time LMP, with a $100/MWh floor price. Participants may receive additional incentives by qualifying as an ICAP Resource for their load reduction capacity, although response to system emergencies then becomes mandatory.
The Real-Time Price Response Program provides customers with the opportunity to receive payments for voluntarily reducing load during periods when the real-time LMP is projected to be high. ISO-NE will notify participants either the night before or day of an event if the LMP is expected to exceed $100/MWh ($0.10/kWh). Participants can voluntarily respond to the notification and submit load data to verify their load reductions. Payment for verified load reductions is based on the real-time LMP, with a $100/MWh floor price. Customers must have interval metering installed at their facility to participate in this program.
The Day-Ahead Option is a more sophisticated variant of the Real-Time Price Response Program. Customers submit offers of hourly load reductions into the day-ahead market and are then notified by their enrolling participant if the offers are accepted. If so, the customer must drop load during the cleared hours but is remunerated by the greater of its bid or the actual clearing price for those hours.

ISO-NE's Forward Capacity Market (FCM) allows customers to bid their load reduction capabilities - whether constant (such as an indoor lighting retrofit project), seasonal (such as a new energy-efficient chiller plant), or dispatchable (such as a back-up generator) - into a forward capacity auction that pits demand-side resources against supply-side ones. The first auction (for resources whose contribution to the grid must begin on June 1, 2010), took place on February 1st, 2008. Future auctions are announced at the FCM web site. However, in the "Transition Period," which is in effect until June 1, 2010, non-dispatchable demand resources (such as energy-efficiency, load management, or distributed generation) of at least 100 kW are eligible for fixed "installed capacity" payments from NE-ISO. The rate of remuneration is $3.75/kW-month in 2008-9, and $4.05/kW-month in 2009-10. Applications must include a measurement and verification plan to assure ISO-NE of the ability to perform.

PSNH offers two additional demand response initiatives:

Technical assistance is available for identifying a commercial customer's potential for utilizing Energy Management Systems - ranging from simple time clocks to advanced computerized controls systems - that can promote more effective participation in demand response initiatives, as well as generally managing energy-using systems with greater efficiency.
PSNH's PeakSmart aims to promote demand response when the New Hampshire zonal price is expected to exceed $0.20/kWh. Commercial customers with at least hourly interval meters are remunerated based on their committed and actual reductions of at least 100 kW per event.

What distributed energy resource options are available to me?

The Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) website provides information on programs that offer incentives for renewable distributed generation. The following programs may be of interest to federal customers:

National Grid's Solar Thermal Rebate Program, part of its Business Energy Efficiency Services initiative, offers gas customers $3 per therm of first-year savings (covering 50% of cost, up to $100,000) for solar thermal space or water heating installations.
New Hampshire Electric Co-op offers rebates of up to $5,000 on solar water heating, solar PV and wind projects to its members.

Are there energy efficiency programs sponsored by the state government?

No state government programs are currently available to federal customers.

What additional opportunities are available to me?

Federal customers also have energy efficiency opportunities available with utilities (e.g., National Grid) that have area-wide contracts with GSA and, by extension, all other federal agencies. Federal facilities should contact their account executive to determine the level of participation by their local utility.