By Yiran He | Wed, August 5, 26
Energy efficiency is an affordability strategy, especially as energy prices are expected to be high this winter, particularly in New England, which has a large proportion of delivered fuels customers. It also remains a least cost resource for utilities and consumers when compared to building expensive new power plants. Since 2012, every dollar invested in efficiency in New Hampshire has produced $3.66 in lifetime benefits. In July, New Hampshire electric and gas utilities filed the 2027-2029 NHSaves Plan, outlining cost-effective energy efficiency investments over the next three years. Here, we unpack the proposed plan and highlight three potential changes it would make:
- Establishment of a statewide contractor network.
- Increased investment in low- and moderate-income programs.
- Increased cross-promotion of energy efficiency and demand response offerings.
What is NHSaves?
NHSaves is a collaboration of New Hampshire’s electric and gas utilities that was created in 2001 to deliver energy efficiency programs for residents and businesses. Following legislation enacted in 2022 after tumultuous debate, the NHSaves plan incorporated several new restrictions. These include a requirement that 65% of electric-sector savings come from reduced electric usage, which caps weatherization savings at 35%, and a set formula for calculation of the total plan budget.
Following a stakeholder engagement process, the utilities filed the draft 2027-2029 NHSaves plan with the PUC on July 1, 2026. Intervening stakeholders will now work with the utilities and the PUC toward plan approval by the end of this year.
As shown in the table, the 2027-2029 NHSaves portfolio is projected to deliver $2.58 in benefits for every $1 invested across three main program categories: Commercial and Industrial, Residential and Income-Eligible, and Active Demand Response. The budget for this cycle is 10% higher than the previous cycle while the projected energy savings are 11-15% lower. This may be due to increased investment in income-eligible programs, which provide higher participant incentives: the income-eligible Home Energy Assistance program offers 100% cost coverage for auditor-recommended energy efficiency improvements.
NHSaves by the Numbers
| Metric | 2027-2029 Draft Plan | Change from 2024-2026 Plan |
|---|---|---|
Budget | $278.7 million | ↑10% |
Income-eligible budget | $58.6 million (21%) | ↑25% |
Electric savings | 2.2 billion kWh | ↓15% |
Gas savings | 5.8 million MMBtu | ↓11% |
Oil, propane, and other fossil savings | 3.8 million MMBtu | ↓26% |
Summer peak demand savings | 62-75 MW | = |
Emissions savings | 1.3 million tons GHG | ↓35% |
Lifetime benefits | $685 million | ↑1% |
$ in benefits for every $1 invested | $2.58 | ↑14% |
Establishment of a Statewide Heat Pump Installer Network
Energy efficiency is New Hampshire’s largest and fast-growing energy sector, accounting for 52% of energy jobs with 11,628 employees in 2024. Therefore, investing in energy efficiency is a crucial jobs strategy. Since contractors act as key intermediaries between consumers and programs, ensuring program success requires that they have the latest rebate and incentive information, list of eligible measures, and training materials. The utilities are proposing three workforce development initiatives: a new statewide framework, a qualified contractor network for heat pump installers, and improved coordination among weatherization and HVAC contractors.
First, the utilities are collaborating to develop a general statewide framework for all contractors that includes ongoing technical education, customer-facing educational opportunities, and avenues for contractor networking. This will support contractors participating in the Products program, which offers incentives for high-efficiency products.
Second, the plan proposes establishing a qualified contractor network for heat pump installers. Qualified contractor networks are groups of trained and vetted contractors that help consumers navigate programs and deliver quality projects. Contractors benefit from being identified as a trusted partner that can save consumers money; meanwhile, programs gain a subset of contractors ready to complete projects that capture energy savings and help meet program goals. The NHSaves network would focus on heat pump installers, which is especially important as heat pumps break into the market in record numbers and the state prepares to support contractors in meeting consumer demand.
Additionally, the utilities plan to work on improved coordination between weatherization contractors and HVAC vendors who are installing residential heat pumps and other HVAC equipment. This can streamline customer participation, ensuring customers can access the full range of upgrades and offerings for which they are eligible, and ultimately deliver better results in building improvements.
Increased Investments in Low- and Moderate-Income Programs
To serve low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers better, the utilities’ proposal would increase funding levels for their LMI programs and expanded financing offers. Currently, at least 20% of energy efficiency spending must be dedicated to low-income programs, per legislative mandate.
The draft NHSaves budget proposes increased levels of investment tailored to LMI households, reinforcing energy efficiency as a critical affordability strategy and least-cost resource. For low-income customers, the Home Energy Assistance program offers 100% cost coverage for whole-home projects, and the utilities also plan to consider offering financing for barrier remediation. This remediation is especially important for low-income households that are otherwise unable to access weatherization, efficiency, or electrification upgrades due to existing structural, health, or safety issues in the home.
For moderate-income customers, the utilities are building on Eversource’s recently deployed moderate-income qualified pathway. Under the residential Home Energy Performance program, Eversource currently provides enhanced rebates to help these customers offset the rising costs of home improvements, and Liberty, Unitil, and NHEC plan to implement similar enhanced incentives where cost-effective.
The utilities also propose expanding financing offers. Low- to no-cost options can make comprehensive, cost-effective home energy projects manageable for customers who could not otherwise afford their share of improvement costs. To expand access, the utilities plan to increase funding for on-bill financing or establish third-party financing pathways. As these options expand for low- and moderate-income households, strong consumer protections will be important to guard against predatory terms and ensure loans deliver net-positive savings on utility bills.
Cross-Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Demand Response
In the 2027-2029 Plan, the utilities propose increasing cross-promotion of their energy efficiency and demand response programs. Cross-promotion reduces customer confusion, lowers service delivery costs, and maximizes grid stability.
In the residential sector, utilities will increase emphasis on cross-promoting the demand response program, ConnectedSolutions, with applicable projects including central HVAC improvements. For commercial customers, utilities proposed developing more effective cross-promotion between ConnectedSolutions and other energy efficiency offerings, particularly C&I projects that include measures such as building management systems and comprehensive HVAC improvements. Educating consumers about all eligible offerings is a strategy for increasing participation in all programs.
In the long-term, utilities can further enhance demand response solutions like virtual power plants (VPPs) to avoid more expensive grid buildout. VPPs can deliver low-cost, reliable distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar, storage, and smart thermostats. By aggregating and dispatching DERs, VPPs integrate demand flexibility and renewables into the grid, thereby minimizing expensive infrastructure investments and reducing customers’ reliance on energy at peak prices. This results in cleaner, more affordable power for more people. Energy efficiency and demand response programs have well-defined processes that utilities can use to design and deliver VPP programs.
Next Steps
Energy efficiency continues to provide value for all ratepayers and grow the local workforce. Looking ahead, the utilities, stakeholders, and the PUC should work together to secure plan approval before the end of the year. NEEP will participate in the ongoing docket proceeding and stay connected to New Hampshire stakeholders through an ongoing working group for energy efficiency advocates. We look forward to watching the plan progress through stakeholder review and ultimate PUC approval, paving the way for the NHSaves programs to grow in the new cycle.
