House lawmakers on Thursday sustained Gov. Chris Sununu’s veto of continued subsidies for Berlin’s Burgess BioPower plant.
House Bill 142 would have helped keep the 10-year-old wood-burning facility afloat by providing a critical financial extension. It was passed by lawmakers this session with bipartisan support, but Thursday’s vote on Sununu’s veto of the bill fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for override, 194-159.
The facility was approved by the Public Utilities Commission in 2011 to sell power to the company now known as Eversource. But the PUC imposed a condition: The facility could not exceed $100 million in total over-market costs – meaning that it could not charge Eversource more than $100 million over the cost to buy the same amount of energy from traditional sources. If it did, Burgess would be required to pay back any amounts it charged in excess of the $100 million total.
Source : NHPR
