While the majority of New England states tethered themselves to aggressive green energy mandates, New Hampshire has avoided this fate by putting energy affordability first.
According to new polling from Independent Women, 78% of New Hampshire women say they’re paying more for their electricity bills now compared to five years ago. Even more (89%) said they’re concerned about rising energy costs.
Governor Kelly Ayotte understands the challenge at hand — to deliver and craft policies that promote energy affordability without increasing costs. In her recent State of the State address, Governor Ayotte blamed neighboring states for adopting policies that, overall, raised regional rates: “Our neighbors, that govern a lot differently than we do, are busy pushing up regional rates with their net-zero religion and lack of pragmatism and focus on the consumer.”
New Hampshire, however, hasn’t been immune to expensive utility bills thanks to prior policy decisions. Between 2019 and 2024, average retail electricity prices spiked 29% in New Hampshire — becoming the 10th most expensive U.S. state for electricity costs. The average household paid $162.67 per month in utility bills as of March 2026 — or 9% higher compared to the national average.
Under the Federal Power Act, Congress gave states like New Hampshire sweeping powers to create electricity generation portfolios and determine electricity prices. Although New Hampshire didn’t mandate fossil fuel phaseouts by 2050 or ban gas-powered cars, some of Governor Ayotte’s predecessors set our state up for failure by mandating increasing amounts of wind and solar while taxing carbon emissions through a regional cap-and-trade program. As a result, 55% of our poll respondents admitted they felt misled by politicians about the cost and effectiveness of green energy policies.
Despite these holdover policies, there is no green energy transitioning happening here or in New England. In fact, 82% of New Hampshire’s electricity mix is primarily supplied by nuclear energy (56%) and natural gas (26%). The same goes for our region, with 74% of net-electricity generation deriving from natural gas and nuclear.
Independent Women’s poll also found that an overwhelming number, or 65%, of New Hampshire residents support new natural gas projects. This is surprising, considering past well-documented regional opposition to new natural gas infrastructure projects.
Natural gas is an abundant, reliable and clean-burning fuel that provides the majority of net-electricity generation in our region and the U.S. The revived Constitution Pipeline is expected to deliver natural gas to New England states by 2027. Its revival is timely following a new report that warned that not adding new natural gas could invite “electricity reliability challenges” following Winter Storm Fern.
That’s why the Ayotte administration has signaled support for it. And she’s not alone. Even the hardline climate governors of Connecticut and Massachusetts have reluctantly embraced natural gas, despite previously pledging to phase it out on the campaign trail.
Like Governor Ayotte, the CEO of ISO New England, the regional transmission organization overseeing our region’s electric grid and transmission, warned against depending on wind and solar during the winter months, stating: “We cannot operate the system in the wintertime without a dependable energy source that can balance the system when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.”
The Ayotte administration is wise to de-prioritize decarbonization policies for alternatives that deliver reliability and affordability. In addition to natural gas, Governor Ayotte wants New Hampshire to be on “the forefront” of new nuclear energy projects. According to a new report by Always On Energy Research and a coalition of Northeastern think tanks, “Alternatives to New England’s Energy Affordability Crisis,” building new natural gas and nuclear projects over costly, unreliable offshore wind and solar projects will save residents about $700 billion in energy costs.
If neighboring states fail to explore these two reliable energy sources, New England risks spending $815 billion through 2050 to reach 100% renewable energy — a target that is neither cheap nor feasible.
Some remedies could also come from the state legislature during session. House Bill 1455, currently being deliberated in the New Hampshire legislature, would classify natural gas as a green energy source. But more can be done. Lawmakers must also consider existing green mandates that have inflated energy costs.
Unlike our neighbors, New Hampshire is fully embracing reliable, affordable, and clean energy sources like natural gas and nuclear. If our neighbors want to see their rates decrease, their energy mix must embrace these sources. New England would fix its electricity crisis by ditching its renewables-only plan and embracing a mix of natural gas and nuclear, saving the region $619 billion in energy costs.