16
N EW HAM PSH I R E B USI N ESS R EVI EW
●
N H B R.C O M
NH OPINIONS
NH Campaign for Legal Services is even more essential State’s civil legal aid programs are facing a surge in need for their services THE LAW
T
he Covid-19 crisis has brought out the best in our communities: Neighbors running errands for seniors, crafting protective equipment for our medical providers and finding new ways to maintain the vital human connections that sustain us during the darkest times. But despite quick and proactive measures by our state KING, PERSONAL FINANCE, ENERGY ONS, THEleaders, LATEST, ABOUT TOWN holds profound economic uncertainty the future RISM, NEWS, GIVING, MORE ONLINE forCHARITABLE so many Granite Staters. Temporary increases in unORD employment benefits, expanded access to food stamps and moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures provide critical help now, but they won’t be enough to protect our neighbors who have lost wages or jobs. The civil legal aid programs at New Hampshire Legal Assistance and the Legal Advice & Referral Center are preparing for a surge in need for service that may exceed what they experienced during any previous downturn in the economy, even the Great Recession. NHLA and LARC clients will face impossible, sometimes dangerous, decisions: Do they pay for food, or their rent? Stay with an abuser or risk homelessness? Forego medication to keep the heat on? Each of these dilemmas has a potential civil legal remedy. But unlike in criminal court, where people who can’t afford an attorney are provided one by the state’s public defender program, people who cannot afford to pay for an attorney for a civil case do not have the guaranteed right to one – despite the complex nature of civil cases
such as evictions, foreclosures, denial of benefits or divorce after domestic violence. Civil legal aid protects people’s most basic living needs, by leveling the playing field when assistance is wrongly delayed or denied. We serve on the Leadership Council of the NH Campaign for Legal Services, founded in 2010 to raise awareness and support for these critical and often overlooked programs. We believe legal aid will be a crucial piece of the services our communities need as we weather this storm: • Public benefits: Unemployment insurance claims are at an all-time high. As laid-off workers begin accessing other public benefits like food stamps and Medicaid, overloaded systems will make processing errors, rejecting eligible families. Legal aid provides expert assistance with appeals of denial of benefits. • Rent and mortgage concerns: Tenants and property owners should still pay their rent and mortgages during the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures. Those who can’t will face eviction and foreclosure once the moratorium is lifted. Some banks and landlords will negotiate manageable payment plans. Others will move to evict or foreclosure, leaving individuals and families at risk of chronic homelessness. Legal aid is ready to help tenants and homeowners understand and navigate the legal process. • Domestic violence: New Hampshire police departments are already seeing spikes in domestic violence calls. Survivors will continue to need representation and advice to stay safe and protect their children. Legal aid helps survivors divorce their abusers and secure child
support and compensation for medical bills so they can heal and restart their lives in safety. • Consumer debt worries: Some households will fall behind on payments to credit cards and other lenders. Legal aid can help them protect their consumer rights. • Special education: School districts have implemented remote learning on short notice, and some are struggling to provide special education services. Legal aid will help students and their families access compensatory special education after the Covid-19 crisis abates. Now more than ever, our neighbors will need legal advice, and now, more than ever, they will not be able to afford hiring an attorney. We write to ask you, if you are able, please consider supporting legal aid through the NH Campaign for Legal Services, so your neighbors can protect their housing, put food on the table, and stay safe from domestic abuse. We’ve seen how strong our state is when we all pull together. You can give securely at nh-cls.org/you-canhelp. If you or someone you know is struggling with a civil legal issue, consult the many resources available free to the public at nhlegalaid.org. If you need more advice, you can also fill out the online application there. This article was written by Ovide Lamontagne of Manchester, chair of the Campaign Leadership Council, with Erica Bodwell of Concord; William L. Chapman of Concord; Michael Delaney of Manchester; Rachel Goldwasser of Concord Margaret Goodlander of Portsmouth; David Gottesman of Nashua; Courtney Herz of Hopkinton; Megan Hilson of Exeter; Martha Van Oot of Portsmouth; and Danette Wineberg of Exeter.
Collect renewable energy payments for rooftop solar The registration process is simple and benefits more than just the owner ENERGY BY PETER SOMSSICH
A
s a member of the House Science Technology and Energy Committee the past three years, I have been dealing with issues surrounding energy generation, renewable and sustainable energy and energy efficiency. As part of that process I became aware of the fact that as a rooftop solar owner I am eligible to be registered as a renewable energy generator. Such a determination would allow me to collect revenues for renewable energy credits, or REC, for each megawatt-hour, or 1,000KWh, of energy generated, after these RECs are sold at the New England quarterly auction. It turns out that when such an owner is not registered to generate RECs, that person’s utility can claim them as their own and get credit as part of the utility’s REC obligation for New Hampshire’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. Based on our state’s RPS targets (which are lower than other New England states), utilities are
obligated to purchase a specific number of RECs. But if they can get them for free, that means they need to purchase fewer at the auction, and that lack of demand will discourage the generation of more RECs, driving down their price. It is important to remember that RECs represent clean, renewable energy that also reduces carbon emissions. Also, when our RPS goals are low, we are forgoing many new renewable energy jobs and the economic growth that accompanies them. Like many other solar owners, I was told that signing up as a renewable energy generator was too bureaucratic and not worth the effort financially. Despite that, I decided to find out for myself. While I did not find the process too complicated or time-consuming, it is true that the financial reward was not much to boast about (approx. $130/ year for a 6000-watt installation). To qualify as a registered renewable energy generator that can earn RECs to sell at auction, an owner must: register with an aggregator (a collector and
seller); sign up with an auditor; and submit monthly solar meter readings to the auditor. After consulting with my solar installer, signed up with Knollwood Energy. My contract is for three years at a minimum price, with the aggregator collecting approx. $2.50 as a commission for each REC sold. In order for the energy generated to qualify, an auditor must verify the actual energy generated. (If an appropriate software is installed along with the solar installation, at a cost of about $300, the energy generated can be reported automatically.) My system was installed five years ago, without such software, so I signed up with an auditor at a cost of $10 per year. That is all that is required. As a result, every quarter I am sent a check from Knollwood Energy for the RECs sold at auction. My last payment for three months amounted to a net of $35. While this certainly is not a large amount of money, it is important to remember that auction prices vary, and that changes in the demand for RECs could be triggered by changes in the RPS target of
the New England states. But this small financial benefit is in addition to the much greater benefits enjoyed by solar rooftop owners, who also are contributing to the amount of New Hampshire renewable energy stock, which provides more energy independence to the state, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is worth looking into solar energy generation whether on rooftops or standalone. The price of solar panels has been dropping annually and the efficiency of each panel has been increasing, while battery storage could soon be very affordable. In addition, there is still a federal energy credit and state credit available. The federal credit, which used to be 30% of system cost, is now only 26%, but is being phased out by Dec. 31, 2021, and the state rebate is $1,000, while funds last. This type of installation is not just for residential single-home owners, but community solar installations are also becoming more popular. Peter Somssich represents Portsmouth in the New Hampshire House.
