In attendance: Sandra Bravo, Kathleen Bigford, Laura Ryder, Susan Moss, Marlene Freyler.
Review and approval of January Minutes.
Community Power Update – CPCNH has had to raise rates from 8.9 cents per kWh to 9.7 cents per kWh, to begin on March 3rd through July. 2025. This will be higher than the Eversource rate (8.929 cents per kWh) for the first time since CPCNH began providing electricity supply in April 2023. This is due to a failed agreement with an in-state power generator which forced CPCNH to purchase power during a period of increased prices driven by the cold and high demand. Eversource has been able to take advantage of a ruling from the Public Utilities Commission to purchase power on the spot market for short term gain and the ability to spread the risk of subsequent rate increases across all customers including CPCNH. A bill currently before the state congress, HB760, would stop utilities from being able to shift costs to CPCNH if they get caught short by this form of riskier purchasing. CPCNH states that they focus on reducing risk and building financial stability over the long term.
We will make this rate change known to our residents in the March Bridge. Anyone can easily opt back into Eversource should they choose, expecting savings of about $5 per month for the average customer. Residents can opt out of CPCNH any time by calling 1-866-603-7697. They can also switch back to CPCNH when the price is lower, as expected for the next rate period beginning August 1. It is quick and easy to make this change, but Residents should know that it will take one-2 billing cycles for the change to take effect in their bill.
Note: CPCNH has saved customers over 20 million dollars in the last 2 years, an average of 8.7% per customer.
CPCNH also allows customers to select higher percentages of renewable energy over the basic plan of 25.2% renewable (The other options are: 33% renewable at 10.4 cents/kWh, 50% at 11.1 cents/kWh, 100% at 13.1cents /kWh.)
- Municipal Weatherization Status – The BEC plans to evaluate the effectiveness of the weatherization projects and to identify other energy saving opportunities at the Fire Station, Highway Department and the Library. Sandra has obtained fuel oil and electricity consumption data for the past two years as well as information on the oil burning equipment for these three facilities. She has reached out to Shakes to Shingles for assistance with the analysis. In progress.
- Solar Energy connect with Solsmart (see 9d, #4) to find out how they advise towns.
- Electrification
a. Geothermal opportunities? Would the Highway Dept be a good site when the time comes for replacement of their old heating system? Must do an engineering study first. CDFA did offer grant money, but the program was cut last year.
b. Heat pump installation opportunities. Stay open to other possibilities for future. - New Hampshire Network Update
a. NH’s Comprehensive Climate Action Plan – Working sessions have commenced and volunteers are needed to assist in the development of the Plan.
b. Like NH’s 2009 CAP, this year’s State of NH Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), March 2024 GhGe reduction targets are not mandatory. The NH DES is under executive orders to not make any specific policy, legislative or fiscal recommendations, but to highlight opportunities under current policies and statutes. The PCAP identifies the measures below as having the most impact in reducing tons of CO2 from 2025-2050:
i. Heat pumps to improve energy efficiency of buildings and water heaters;
ii. Incentivizing EV and plug-in hybrid purchases;
iii. Weatherization and pre-weatherization to improve energy efficiency of buildings; and
iv. Food waste optimization. - Legislative Updates
a. A good place to stay on top of NH legislative updates is through https://www.newhampshirenetwork.org/NH-bills.
b. Online testimony can be given using this website at the NH General Court. February has been a very active month for energy related bills. Sandra has been forwarding the links to these websites to an informal email list of people who have stated an interest in climate advocacy. Most of the pertinent bills are coming through the Committee on Science, Technology and Energy. Representative Vose is the chairperson. Sandra has written a letter directly to Vose and she will circulate it more widely. - BEC Public Outreach in February
a. Energy Assistance for Businesses. Kathleen has asked a local business owner to consider going through the process of an energy audit. Energy Audits and Weatherization are available for businesses through NH Saves.
b. We reported on Energy Saving Home Improvements and tax incentives in the February Bridge. - Proposed articles for March Bridge
a. Sandra wrote a Letter to the editor about the potential loss of funding and lack of progress on climate goals.
b. Kathleen will publish new rates for CPCNH. See #1. - Other Items
a. KCA – Sandra and Susan attended the meeting on 1/27/25. Energy Committee members reported on actions by their Towns. KCA is working on scheduling Button-up Workshops. Spring?
b. NHSaves opportunities for Bradford businesses? Looking for a case study.
c. Inflation Reduction Funds availability. Still unknown.
d. Sandra and Susan both watched a webinar: State of Clean Energy, presentation by Sam Evans Brown, Clean Energy NH February 6. Some takeaways:- All federal funding is paused for review and nobody knows what this really means. Sam hopes that philanthropy could help fill in for expected losses.
- NH is way behind all of the other New England states in terms of renewable energy. Rhode Island is at almost 100%
- There has been a growing backlash against solar in NH hence many bills hitting our legislature. 400 local ordinances across the US have rejected clean energy initiatives.
- Continued solar development is key and a non-profit called Solsmart is partnering with Clean Energy NH to help towns with planning, permitting, zoning, etc.
- CENH is focused on the economic benefits in their advocacy for clean energy transition policy. Saving money is the most important selling point for getting towns onboard. People also need to consider economic losses from climate change to our state, so reliant on tourism, and summer and winter sports.
- The facts are irrefutable: Solar is overwhelmingly the cheapest source of energy. Many countries are making huge gains in converting – even poor countries like Pakistan.
e. Sandra attended a webinar February 10 – Unwrap the Future III. Reuse and Zero Waste as the New Normal presented by the NH Plastics Workgroup. Plastic is worse than we thought. Less than 5-6% of plastic is recycled as it is too toxic for reuse with a few exceptions. Most ends up in a landfill or incinerated. Moving from single use to refill is better for the environment. Balloons kill wildlife. New research from the University of New Mexico, in collaboration with several institutions, reveals that the brain may contain significantly higher levels of microplastics compared to other organs. The study, published in Nature Medicine, analyzed tissue samples from 47 cadavers and found that brain tissue contained roughly ten times more microplastics than liver and kidney tissue. The average microplastic content in the brain was about 4,800 micrograms per gram, equivalent to the amount found in a plastic spoon. Dr. Matthew Campen and his research team’s groundbreaking work continues to shed light on the environmental and health impact of microplastics.
f. Actions for reducing plastic use: Hospitals, arenas and schools are areas that could make big changes to reduce waste. We could promote opportunities to reduce waste in Bradford. One thought – publicize when the Witching Hour from Contoocook comes to Sweet Beet Market to offer household products in refillable containers. Lois is also a great advocate for reducing waste at the transfer station.
g. Sandra heard from Harry Seidel about offering a Button Up workshop in Warner jointly with a few other towns. The community room at the Sweet Beet might be a good location. Our 2023 workshop was not well attended. How to build more interest?
h. Susan and Sandra will attend a CENH zoom on Thursday the 27th about how NH Municipalities are investing in clean energy.
Conclude. Next meeting on March 18th, 5-6. At the Town Hall.