CHAPTER 374-A AUTHORIZING ELECTRIC UTILITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN ELECTRIC POWER FACILITIES
Authority, Taxation, Regulation
Section 374-A:6
374-A:6 Regulation of Domestic Electric Utilities. –
I. (a) Notwithstanding the exception for municipal corporations operating within their corporate limits provided in RSA 362:2, any municipal utility which acquires or is acquiring or has any interest in an electric power facility located within its corporate limits or elsewhere shall, with respect to such facility so long as it retains such interest therein, be considered a "public utility" for all purposes of RSA Title XXXIV and a corporation to which the provisions of RSA 231:159-182 shall be applicable, provided that RSA 231:159-182 to the extent not now applicable to a municipal utility shall be applicable to such a utility only with respect to those facilities constituting electric power facilities; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect either such municipal utility's exemption from public utility status while operating within its corporate limits or such municipal utility's status as a public utility while operating outside its corporate limits, except in either case with respect to its interest in such facility; and provided, further, that the following requirements of RSA Title XXXIV shall be applicable only to the extent, if any, hereinafter specified:
(1) The provisions of RSA 359-T, 367, 368, 372, 373, 376, 377, 379, 380, 381, and 382 and all sections in RSA Title XXXIV relating solely to public utilities other than electric utilities shall not apply to any such municipal utility;
(2) The provisions of RSA 363-A and 364 and the provisions of RSA 366:8, 369:8, 369:14-16, 374:12, and 374:32 shall not apply to any such municipal utility;
(3) The provisions of RSA 371 shall be applicable to a municipal utility only with respect to those facilities constituting electric power facilities; and
(4) The provisions of RSA 378 shall apply only to rates, prices and charges made by any such municipal utility for sales of electricity other than to the ultimate consumer thereof.
(b) In construing all sections of RSA Title XXXIV where reference is made to officers or directors of a public utility, such provisions shall, where applicable to any municipal utility by virtue of the provisions of subparagraph (a), be deemed to include the municipal officers or members of the board of commissioners in whom the management of such municipal utility is vested.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any municipal charter, or any ordinance or bylaw adopted thereunder, competitive bidding shall not be required in connection with the purchase of equipment, supplies or materials required for the construction or operation of electric power facilities. Any provision of any law, municipal charter, ordinance or bylaw relating to contracts awarded by municipalities or municipal utilities for construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, repair, demolition, equipment, supplies or materials shall not be applicable to contracts related to electric power facilities wherever the utility or utilities having primary responsibility for the construction or operation of the facility are not municipal utilities.
II. Legislative consent is hereby given to the application to any domestic electric utility which is acting without the state, pursuant to authority granted in this chapter, of regulatory and other laws of other states and of the United States.
III. In addition to ownership, sole or joint in electric power facilities, the commission shall include in the rate base of a domestic electric utility any investments, including securities, prepayments or other investments, acquired by it in connection with its participation in an electric power facility within or without the state.
Source. 1975, 501:1, eff. June 24, 1975. 2013, 100:9, eff. Aug. 23, 2013. 2022, 14:5, eff. Jan. 1, 2023.