Our legislators must be scientific super geniuses

For years, legislators have been on a relentless quest to raise electricity rates for Granite Staters. Because unlike the rest of us, they are geniuses. 

None of us knows exactly what New Hampshire’s energy mix should be. None of us could say precisely how much of the state’s energy should come from solar or biomass. 

But they know.  

In the continental United States, only three states (Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island) have higher electricity rates than New Hampshire. There are lots of reasons why our rates are so high. One is that we don’t have enough pipelines to deliver natural gas to the state. Another is that we have multiple state mandates that raise rates by requiring utilities to pay higher prices for the type of power legislators prefer — instead of the type of power consumers prefer. 

Because they know. 

This week they issued their latest genius decree. Senate Bill 168 would amend the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) to require that at least 5.4 percent of New Hampshire’s electricity is generated from solar sources by 2025.

The Renewable Portfolio Standards, imposed in 2007, force utilities to buy certain percentages of power from renewable sources such as thermal, new solar, biomass and small-scale hydro. Utilities must buy 25.2 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025, with that 25.2 percent broken down into specific classes.

The current standards require that 0.6 percent of power comes from new (opened after 2005) solar generation. Bumping that to 5.4 percent in six years, as SB 168 does, is a huge increase. An ignoramus might ask: why 5.4 percent?

Why not 5 percent? Or between 5-10 percent? Why exactly 5.4 percent? 

That’s amazing precision. 

How do legislators know that 5.4 percent is precisely the right percentage of solar for New Hampshire to have? 

They must be super geniuses. Like Wile E. Coyote. 

That has to be it. 

We respect our legislators too much to believe that this whole RPS scheme is like kids dressing up for Career Day at school. “We get to play electric company executive today! Yay!”

Because legislators mandate specific rates for specific classes of renewable energy instead of, say, encouraging utilities to reach an overall target (with no penalties), they must know everything there is to know about energy. 

They must have knowledge that we little people cannot understand with our little minds and parochial concerns, like what will we spend less on this year so we can afford to pay the electric bill? 

Such knowledge is a gift.   

As we noted in April, University of Chicago researchers have found that RPS laws raise energy prices by 17 percent within 12 years after passage. 

We shared that study with legislators. They ignored it. The University of Chicago researchers must be imbeciles too. 

Business executives and ratepayer advocates have explained to legislators over the years that mandates such as these raise New Hampshire’s cost of living, discouraging business investment and making it harder for families and employers to make ends meet. 

But legislators keep passing more mandates. Their vision is beyond that of mere retirees and employers, with their petty concerns about grocery bills and survival in a competitive market.

As electric rates continue to rise, we common folk should resist the urge to get angry. 

Just consider the higher rates a genius tax. They’re the price we pay for living under the benevolent guidance of brilliant elites who know best how to spend the money we earn.