For District 30 voters in Antrim, Bennington, Hillsborough and Windsor, are your electric bills too high? It is time to elect representatives that stand with the smaller companies and workers of our region who have the resources to generate our power.
Two bills that have come up in recent years have dealt with net metering and biomass conversion. Net metering is the ability to sell generated power to the grid, but it has been limited. Recent bills have sought to expand the amount of power one can sell. This would be a benefit to all those solar arrays we’ve been seeing and to local companies like Monadnock Paper Mills who generate hydroelectric power. They can generate more power than they can sell under the current regulations. The ability to sell more would be a boon to them and an incentive for other alternative energy producers.
Biomass conversion is the burning of wood chips mixed with other burnables to generate electricity. Recent bills have sought to maintain the markets and facilities to burn this biomass. Having viable markets is necessary for the many log-cutters in our forest industry. Making electricity in this alternate way brings us back to net metering.
What happened to these bills? Our governor has vetoed them as too cumbersome for Eversource.
Without markets for alternative energy, and with a near-monopoly, Eversource has recently doubled your electric rates. These vetoes were sustained with the support of the two incumbent representatives now running in the new district, Hillsborough County District 30.
I am running in District 30, along with Peter Koutroubas and Ckris Wallenstein. Together we will stand to support our local businesses and jobs with net metering and biomass legislation that helps our towns.
Please vote on Nov. 8.
Jon Manley
Bennington