Electric Rates Up Over 36% Under Current NH Consumer Advocate, With More Hikes Looming

CONCORD, N.H. — Residential electricity rates in New Hampshire have increased by 36.1% since Donald Kreis assumed the role of Consumer Advocate in February 2016, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The increase places New Hampshire among the states with the highest residential electricity costs in the continental United States.

In 2016, the average residential rate in New Hampshire was 15.78 cents per kilowatt-hour. As of the most recent EIA reporting, that figure stands at 21.48 cents. The Consumer Advocate’s Office is tasked by statute with representing the interests of residential utility customers in proceedings before the state’s Public Utilities Commission and other regulatory bodies.

Kreis declined to comment when asked about the 36.1% rate increases.**

Meanwhile, utilities serving New Hampshire have submitted new requests for rate increases. Eversource has filed with the PUC to recover more than $6.5 million in under-collected costs through customer surcharges, while Unitil has requested permission to recover approximately $700,000. If approved, both would result in further increases to customer bills.

While many variables contribute to retail electricity rates—including regional wholesale markets, fuel prices, and infrastructure costs—the Consumer Advocate plays a formal role in reviewing and intervening in rate cases, offering testimony, and negotiating settlements with utilities.

Under Kreis’s leadership, the office has engaged in dockets related to long-term planning, clean energy integration, and net metering policy. The office has also supported adopting updated building energy codes and utility data sharing platforms aimed at improving energy efficiency. The potential to the change in building codes supported by Kreis drew the opposition of the New Hampshire Home Builders who said it would significantly increase the cost of a new home. Supporters of these initiatives cite long-term benefits to ratepayers.

Source: Donald Kreis' Bluesky Account

Kreis attended an April 5 "Hands Off" rally in Concord organized around far left political and policy themes surrounding the Trump Administration. While there is no indication of any official action taken in connection with the event, the appearance has drawn attention given the statutory expectation that the Consumer Advocate operate independently and on behalf of all residential customers. Kreis said at the time "As a slightly visible state official, I try to stay out of the political fray. But I also have a conscience-" Furthermore, Kreis recently stated on his Bluesky account that he is considering adding his pronouns to his official state email in protest over the Trump Administration's policy on responding to the media.

The Public Utilities Commission is expected to review the pending rate recovery requests from Eversource and Unitil in the coming months. If approved, the changes could take effect later this year and Kreis is expected to participate in the proceedings.

-- Editor's Note: Mr. Kreis declined to comment on this article. In the interest of transparency, we have copied to correspondence with him below. Any additional comment he has will be added to this article.

**

Mr. Kries has since provided this response to our inquiry:

1. I did not decline to answer your questions. Rather, I declined to respond to your organization because I don’t know who you are. I never comment on matters of public importance anonymously because I stand behind the opinions I express and the facts I share. Rather than allow my responses to your questions to be filtered through a person or persons who insist on anonymity, I published my responses via an edition of my column on the news web site InDepthNH.org – a legitimate news organization that does not rely on anonymity. Those who want to read my responses can see them here: https://indepthnh.org/2025/05/14/qa-for-the-oca-on-electric-rates/

2. I apologize to no one for attending the event at the State House on April 5, organized to protest the Trump Administration. I wasn’t carrying a sign but clearly visible on my head is a hat bearing the logo of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. My 23-year-old daughter is living and thriving with cystic fibrosis, a severe lift-shortening genetic disease. We are on the brink of curing cystic fibrosis, thanks in no small part to the excellent work of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Trump Administration’s efforts to gut those two agencies are unconscionable and a direct threat to the well-being of my family. President Trump is willfully surrendering our nation’s historic role of leading the world’s quest for scientific progress in overcoming disease and suffering. I refuse to be silent in the face of such a threat and if that affects the way people perceive me in my official capacity as Consumer Advocate, so be it.

   
   

3. My dislike and disapproval of Donald Trump as president is a reflection of my judgment of him as a person. This is an opinion I have held for many years -- since I lived in New York City during the early 1980s, which is when and where Mr. Trump first came into prominence. My low opinion of Donald Trump does not extend to Republicans generally and I enjoy friendly and cooperative relationships with many elected officials in New Hampshire, of both major political parties. I am an “undeclared” voter (i.e., not registered as a Democrat or Republican) and I do not participate in partisan activities.