Dover, NH – Grassroots organizers with 350 New Hampshire celebrate the NH Supreme Court decision to deny Liberty Utilities’ request for a rate increase to recover the money they lost pursuing the Granite Bridge Pipeline. Liberty originally asked the Public Utilities Commission for the ability to have ratepayers pay for the failed Granite Bridge project, were denied, and took their fight to the Supreme Court. After wasting even more money in their attempts to make NH residents pay for climate-destroying fracked gas, Liberty must move on beyond the Granite Bridge.
“Ratepayers of NH should not be responsible for our utility companies’ continued attempts to expand fracked gas use,” said Rebecca Beaulieu (she/her), Communications Director for 350NH. “I am pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling and hope that Liberty realizes the time for fracked gas is in the past. We need utility companies to prioritize clean, renewable energy expansion that lessens energy cost burdens on everyday people.”
350 New Hampshire fought the Granite Bridge Pipeline project in 2017 when Liberty first proposed it, citing concerns about community health, safety, and climate crisis. Thousands of Granite Staters wrote letters to the Public Utilities Commission, contacted their representatives, and showed up at protests across the state to oppose the project before it was defeated in the summer of 2020.
“Utility costs have already skyrocketed because of how expensive fracked gas is right now,” said Jennifer Dube, Climate Justice Organizer for 350NH. “Let this be a message to the fossil fuel-reliant companies in New England: we will not allow for more gas expansion in this region, or for utility companies to raise rates for their customers. Utility companies must stop pursuing more fracked gas or else the climate crisis will only get worse, and our bills will only get higher.”
About half of New England’s energy use is from fracked gas. It is expensive, hurts community health, and contributes to the climate crisis. Preventing Liberty Utilities from recovering funds they lost pursuing more fracked gas use is a step in the right direction for New Hampshire.
350 New Hampshire is pushing for a just transition to clean, renewable energy that puts people and the planet first.
