Governor Ayotte Joins Bipartisan Opposition to Utility Profit Inflation

CONCORD, NH - On Thursday, Governor Kelly Ayotte joined a bipartisan group of New England Governors in a letter urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject a major profit increase for transmission utilities.

"Electric bills in New Hampshire and across our region are already too high, and utilities should be looking for ways to lower costs, not increase their profits," said Governor Ayotte. "I joined fellow New England Governors in urging federal regulators to reject transmission utilities' effort to inflate their guaranteed profit margin. We'll continue working to protect ratepayers, bring more energy to our region, and lower costs for families."

New England Transmission Owners filed a proposal on April 30 with FERC to increase their return on equity (ROE) from 9.57% to 11.39%. In March, FERC found that NETOs had been overcharging New England ratepayers since 2012, ordering them to cut their ROE to 9.57% and issue more than $1 billion in refunds to customers. Now, NETOs are once again requesting a profit margin increase at the expense of families and businesses across the region.

Read the joint letter to FERC from all six New England Governors.

Governor Ayotte has made lowering Granite Staters' electric bills and reducing energy costs a critical priority of her administration:

• Nominated and confirmed a new Chairman at the Public Utilities Commission with affordability as a "top priority".
• Successfully pushed ISO New England to fast-track market rule changes to reduce unnecessary costs.
• Issued an Executive Order directing state energy leaders and stakeholders to develop a roadmap for next-generation nuclear power in New Hampshire.
• Joined New England Governors in a bipartisan commitment to foster next-generation nuclear and bring more energy to the region.