New Hampshire Electricity Suppliers by Utility Territory: Eversource vs Unitil vs Liberty (2026)

New Hampshire has a deregulated electricity supply market with three main investor-owned utility territories — Eversource, Unitil, and Liberty Utilities — plus the growing role of Community Power Aggregation. Knowing your utility territory, your default service rate, and your competitive options is how you keep your bill under control in 2026.

The Three Main Utility Territories

Eversource (formerly PSNH) is by far the largest, serving roughly 500,000 customers across much of the state including the Manchester, Concord, and Seacoast areas. Unitil serves parts of the Seacoast and south-central New Hampshire, including portions of the Capital region. Liberty Utilities serves communities in the southern part of the state. There’s also the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, which serves rural areas and operates under a member-owned model rather than the standard choice program.

Each of these is a regulated distribution utility. They own the wires, deliver power, handle outages, and bill you, but the supply (generation) portion of your bill is open to competition.

Default Service vs. Competitive Supply

If you haven’t chosen a competitive supplier or joined a community power program, you’re on your utility’s default service (sometimes called default energy service). The utility procures this power through regulated solicitations and passes the cost through — it doesn’t mark it up for profit. Default service rates reset periodically (often every six months, around February and August) and can move significantly with wholesale market conditions.

The alternative is a competitive electricity supplier registered with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. These suppliers offer fixed-rate contracts and green plans. As in every deregulated state, the supplier provides only the commodity; your utility still delivers the power and responds to outages.

Community Power Aggregation: New Hampshire’s Big Shift

New Hampshire has embraced Community Power Aggregation (CPA) more than almost any other state. Under CPA, a town or city pools its residents’ buying power and procures electricity supply on their behalf — often at rates below the utility default and frequently with higher renewable content. Programs like the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH) serve dozens of municipalities.

If your town has launched a community power program, you were likely automatically enrolled (with the right to opt out). For many residents, this has become the default way to get a better-than-utility supply rate without shopping individually. Check whether your town participates — it may already be saving you money, and you can compare its rate against both the utility default and individual competitive offers.

How to Compare Your Options in New Hampshire

• Identify your utility (Eversource, Unitil, or Liberty) and find your current default service supply rate — your price to compare.
• Check if your town has Community Power. If so, compare its rate and renewable content against the utility default.
• Compare competitive supplier offers — favor fixed-rate contracts with clear terms over variable plans.
• Watch the default service reset dates (roughly February and August) since that’s when the benchmark moves.
• Read contract fine print for term length, post-intro rates, monthly fees, and early termination fees.

What Switching Changes — and What It Doesn’t

Choosing a community power program or a competitive supplier changes only the supply portion of your bill. Eversource, Unitil, or Liberty still owns the wires, delivers your electricity, and restores power after storms. You continue to get one bill from your utility, with the supply line reflecting your chosen rate. If a supplier exits the market or you cancel, you fall back to default service automatically.

Why New Hampshire Delivery Charges Are High

New Hampshire residents often notice that even when supply rates are competitive, the total bill stays high — and that’s largely about delivery charges. New England has limited natural gas pipeline capacity into the region, aging transmission infrastructure, and historically high stranded-cost recovery from the restructuring era. Those costs show up on the regulated delivery side of your bill, which competitive supply and community power cannot reduce. This is why focusing only on the supply rate tells half the story. The supply portion is the part you can shop; the delivery portion is fixed by your utility and the regulators. Understanding the split helps you set realistic expectations: switching to a cheaper supplier or joining community power lowers the supply line, but the delivery line — and therefore a meaningful chunk of your bill — stays the same regardless of what you do.

Is Switching Worth It in New Hampshire?

For many residents, the easiest win is simply staying enrolled in a well-run community power program, which often beats the utility default. Beyond that, a fixed-rate competitive contract makes sense when default service is high and you want price certainty. Avoid variable-rate individual plans with teaser pricing. The disciplined move is to compare three numbers — your utility default rate, your community power rate (if available), and the best fixed competitive offer — and pick the lowest with acceptable terms. Compare current New Hampshire options below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the electricity utilities in New Hampshire?

The three main investor-owned utilities are Eversource (the largest), Unitil, and Liberty Utilities. The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative serves rural areas under a member-owned model.

Can I choose my electricity supplier in New Hampshire?

Yes. You can pick a competitive supplier registered with the NH Public Utilities Commission, join a Community Power program if your town offers one, or stay on your utility’s default service.

What is Community Power in New Hampshire?

Community Power Aggregation lets a town pool residents’ buying power to procure electricity supply, often below the utility default rate and with more renewable content. Many NH towns participate, with automatic enrollment and an opt-out.

What is default service in New Hampshire?

Default (default energy) service is the supply rate your utility procures for customers who haven’t chosen a competitive supplier or community power. It resets periodically, roughly each February and August.

Does switching suppliers change my reliability?

No. Eversource, Unitil, or Liberty still owns the grid and handles delivery and outages. Switching only affects the supply portion of your bill.

Should I join my town’s Community Power program?

For many residents it’s the simplest way to beat the utility default rate. Compare your community power rate against the utility default and the best fixed competitive offer before deciding.