Energetic Anniversary Meeting

The Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Energy Board will hold its regular monthly meeting Friday morning in Greenfield. The EESE Board, which is connected to the state Public Utilities Commission, just turned two years old. It was formed by the New Hampshire Legislature in 2008 to “promote and coordinate energy efficiency, demand response, and sustainable energy programs in the state.”

One of EESE’s current projects is a comprehensive review of New Hampshire’s energy policies, although it won’t be doing this review itself. Rather, the PUC is hiring a consultant to do the review, and EESE got to choose the people who will pick the winning bid. This comprehensive review is required by a state law that passed last March, Senate Bill 323.

EESE was created to work closely with the state’s PUC. At least once a year, they provide recommendations on how to administer funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives. That includes more than $60 million in federal stimulus money over a three-year period beginning in 2009.

The Legislature created EESE after the state joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a coordinated effort by 10 northeastern states to cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric generating plants. The EESE board was also given responsibility to promote energy efficiency as the cleanest and least expensive energy resource and was directed to develop plans to build on existing successful programs.

The 17-member voting board includes representatives from the business sector, state agencies, non-profit organization, and House and Senate members. It has issued annual reports in 2008 and 2009 and has five subcommittees, including one that works on municipal services and another focusing on outreach and education.

>> Public Meeting of the Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Energy Board, Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, 1 Verney Drive, Greenfield, Friday, Oct. 8, at 9 a.m.

For more information, see www.puc.nh.gov/EESE.htm.

This Daily Update was written by Michael McCord, with contributions from Hilary Niles.

Posted by Hilary Niles on Oct 7 2010. Filed under agencies & departments, Commerce, electricity, energy sector, Environment & Resources, Government, renewable energy, utilities, Weekly Briefing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry