The following is an opinion piece offered by the House Minority Leader Alexis Simpson of Exeter published in the NH Union Leader.
Over the past few weeks, Granite Staters have watched gas prices climb and home heating oil prices spike, all because of Donald Trump’s reckless, costly war in Iran. This is on top of the rising electric bills we’ve all experienced over the past year.
There is no room in family budgets to keep absorbing these increased energy costs at a time when we’re already being hit by high housing, child care, and health care costs.
This isn’t a new energy story. It’s the same one we’ve seen again and again. Every time there’s a war, a supply disruption, a natural disaster, or a spike in global demand, energy prices go up — and Granite Staters are left to stretch their dollars further and further. Meanwhile, utility companies are making record profits, using ratepayers as their piggy bank.
This system is not working for Granite State families. It’s built around volatile, dirty fuels that are completely outside your control, with no accountability for the large utility companies that profit from it.
Families can’t budget around this unpredictability.
And yet, this status quo is exactly the system that Republicans in Washington and here in New Hampshire have chosen to double down on.
From Donald Trump to Governor Ayotte to State House Republicans, they’ve all pushed the myth that relying on natural gas and oil would keep costs low. But as our energy bills confirm every month, the opposite is true.
Instead of diversifying our energy sources to reduce costs, Republicans have made the problem worse. They’ve blocked and rolled back clean energy projects that would add local power and help stabilize prices over time. They’ve allowed utility companies to pass along constant cost increases. And they’ve stuck with an outdated energy strategy that leaves New Hampshire dependent on expensive, imported fuels — with no plan to change course.
You don’t lower costs by clinging to the most volatile energy sources. You don’t create stability by tying your future to markets you can’t control. And you don’t help families by defending a status quo that keeps driving up their bills.
We need a different approach — one built around affordability, stability, and local energy generation.
Local renewable energy, whether solar, wind, or other in-state sources, is within our control and reduces our dependence on imported fuels. The more we rely on homegrown renewable energy, the less vulnerable we are to events happening halfway around the world — and the sooner we’ll see lower bills.
This new vision means modernizing the grid we already have and getting more out of it. Right now, we pay for an energy system built to handle a few peak demand periods each year — the most expensive hours on the grid. By investing in storage and smarter energy use, we can reduce peak costs and bring down bills for everyone, not just those who can afford new technology.
We must also hold utility companies accountable. When families open their electric bills and see another increase, it’s not their imagination, and it’s not their fault. For too long, regulators have allowed utilities to pass costs directly onto customers while protecting corporate profits. That needs to change. We can modernize our grid and keep it reliable without asking Granite Staters to bear the entire burden.
This is a sustainable, practical path forward — one that builds a system that is more predictable, more affordable, and more resilient. A future that works for families instead of against them.
We can keep doubling down on the same failed approach from state Republicans. Or we can build an energy system that invests in storage and diversified sources to deliver what families actually need: lower costs, greater stability, and real control over their monthly bills.
Smart energy policy means lower bills and more control over what Granite Staters pay each month.
If we want energy that works for New Hampshire, it’s time to choose a new path.
House Democratic Leader Rep. Alexis Simpson, D-Exeter, represents Rockingham District 33.