March 5, 2025 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Guests: Prospective member Jake, Steve from Milford.
Cari LaMontagne is officially a member. Welcome!
Tony opened with his famous NH Trivia, “Mr or Mrs Club president” edition.
Phil won the 50/50.
The card game is up to about $600 and there are only about 14 cards left in the deck. Mike won the chance to draw this week but the ace eluded him.
We are still looking for volunteers for the rabies clinic on March 29. Tony brought more posters so please take them and post them. We still need more folding tables and 2 more folding chairs, as well as 2 more people to staff tables at the event.
If you did not fill out a survey last week on the Changing of the Guard, please do it this week.
The next episode of the speech contest will be the last Wednesday of the month (March 26). We will have a rep from all 3 clubs.
Taking down holiday decorations from the Common will be on March 17, Monday morning, at 9 am. A signup sheet will go out next week.
Steve from Milford reported that their club is doing their big 100 rounds of golf fundraiser. They play these at Amherst Country Club in June. The golfer sells 50-$20 raffle tickets in order to play. They will split proceeds with any nonprofit that wants to participate; the winner doesn’t have to be a Rotarian. We can decide if we wish to participate this year. We would need to let Steve know by May They typically make $125,000 every year. He will email Alicia the flyer. It’s also on line: search “100 Holes of Golf Milford Rotary.”
Jake and Alan went to the high school to do the first Trade Talk for this year. They took donuts and Dunkin’ gift cards, which got the kids engaged. They asked the students a lot of questions to get them to participate. The topic was the snow removal business. Aaron from Pemi Valley Barber Shop will be there next Tuesday and we need a Rotarian volunteer to be there at 10:25. (Mike volunteered.) We have Piper on the 18th, Plymouth Fire and EMS on the 25th, the Air Force on April 1, and are open on April 8. Nate from J & M Imports will speak the following week. Note that the 8th is the last talk before applications for the transition grant are due. If you have any more tradespeople you can suggest, please let Alicia know.
Phil was our speaker today. He gave us an introduction to his work as an energy consultant, starting by talking about our energy markets.
Years ago, utilities owned all the parts of the grid, including transmission and distribution lines, as well as generating electricity. This has changed and today many utilities just own the generators.
Regional transmission markets are located throughout the country. Most of these are multi-state entities that coordinate the supply and shipment of electricity to the various utilities. The transmission market for NH is ISO New England. It buys power from NY as well as Quebec.
Every 3 years ISO holds capacity markets. They determine how much energy they will need to have available and what it will cost. Generators bid on the chance to sell the energy to ISO on a contract. ISO New England can also buy more expensive spot power as needed during the period. Each utility buys a share of the total generating capacity on a monthly basis. Transmission capacity is purchased annually, based on what each utility is using on the hottest day of the year. Customers all pay for these costs as part of their electric bills.
At the last cost capacity market, the coal burning plant in Bow was not cost effective and so was not included as part of the market. ISO does not look at how the power they buy is generated, so this was a financial decision rather than an environmental one.
Most states in New England have energy efficiency programs. Vermont and Maine have programs called Efficiency VT and Efficiency ME for energy efficiency. Massachusetts , Connecticut, and Rhode Island rely on utilities to offer energy efficiency programs to customers.
In New Hampshire our efficiency projects are mainly funded by utilities and the focus is on electrical efficiency, while other states may focus a little more on increasing fuel efficiency as well. The NH SAVES program is which is now defined in statute. Four electric utilities and 2 gas utilities collaborate to produce a suite of programs to measure how cost-effective these efficiency programs will be and how they will be funded by the state. There is also an office of NH Consumer Advocate that speaks to the legislature on behalf of customers to try to reduce costs. There is a 3 year filing and once it is approved, the utilities will be able to take the systems benefit charge to incentivize businesses and homes to be more energy efficiency.
Some of the money awarded is income-related, using both federal and state (the systems benefit charge) to incentivize efficiency. Heat pumps and refrigeration are easy to retrofit. There are different levels of incentive that cover both new construction and retrofits. There are appliance incentives (covering dishwashers, refrigerators and water heaters,, for example), and other incentives that weatherizing existing homes. There is also a recycling program that will have the utility buy your old appliances, with the idea that any newer appliances you buy to replace them will be more energy efficient.
Residents need to qualify for the NH SAVES program by showing the heating costs for their home. Software exists to determine who qualifies and even people who use moderate level of electricity may qualify. An auditor will look at your insulation levels and air leakage. Any penetrations in your ceiling allow air to escape from your house and this draws cold air in from outside (this can can be the source of 40% of energy leakage in your home) The auditor uses a blower test to pressurize the house to 50 psi to determine how much air sealing you can handle. The auditor proposes increasing insulation up to the current code (usually with cellulose). Air sealing the rim of the basement is important. The audit is free; they will give an you an estimate and there are rebates as well as low-cost financing to help pay for the recommendations. You can apply a second time if you need additional insulation, as long as you still qualify on the basis of energy use.
Tony will be going to NE PETS and return energized with a lot more knowledge. The incoming Rotary International World president will be attending.
Happy dollars were shared by Tony and Denise.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary
