DE 98-023
                                       
                    PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

                       Interconnection Requirements For
                Residential Cogeneration Qualifying Facilities

                      Order Adopting Procedural Schedule

                           O R D E R  N O.  22,906 

                                April 28, 1998

    Appearances: Catherine Shively, Esq. on behalf of
Public Service Company of New Hampshire; Thomas Sciatia,
President of Intelligen; Chuck Stata; John Bachhuber; and Eugene
F. Sullivan, Esq. For the Staff of the New Hampshire Public
Utilities Commission.


  On February 6, 1998, New Hampshire Public Utilities
Commission (Commission) Staff filed with the Commission a
memorandum recommending that a proceeding be opened to
investigate policies governing the interconnection of Intelligen
Energy Systems, Inc. (Intelligen) residential cogeneration units
to the Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) grid.  In
its memorandum Staff recounted the difficulties encountered by
Intelligen and its customers regarding the installation and
interconnection of their units with the PSNH grid.  
  By Order of Notice issued March 13, 1998, the
Commission scheduled a prehearing conference for April 16, 1998,
set deadlines for intervention requests and objections thereto,
and required the Parties and Commission Staff (Staff) to
summarize their positions with regard to the filing for the
record.  
  Requests for full intervention were filed by Intelligen
and by two customers who anticipate installing or who have
installed self-generating units of the type manufactured by
Intelligen, Chuck Stata and John Bachhuber.  The Commission
granted these requests for intervention.  The Office of the
Consumer Advocate (OCA) is a statutorily recognized intervenor.   
  At the prehearing conference the parties discussed a
proposed procedural schedule which is slightly revised from a
schedule previously proposed by Staff.  The revised schedule is
as follows:
  PSNH files Testimony and Exhibits                             April 30, 1998

  Data Requests by Staff, OCA and                                May 14, 1998 
     Intervenors

  Responses to May 14 Data Requests                              May 28, 1998 
     Filed

  Data Requests by Staff, OCA and                               June 04, 1998 
     Intervenors

  Data Responses to June 4 Requests                             June 11, 1998 

  Staff, OCA and Intervenor                                     July 02, 1998 
       Testimony Filed

  PSNH files Data Requests with                                 July 16, 1998 
       Staff, OCA and Intervenors

  Data Responses by Staff, OCA and                              July 23, 1998 
     Intervenors

  PSNH Rebuttal Testimony Filed                               August 04, 1998 

  Settlement Conference                                       August 05, 1998 
                                                 at 10:00 A.M. 

  Hearing                                                August 18 & 19, 1998 
                                                 at 10:00 A.M.
We find this revised procedural schedule to be reasonable and
will approve it for the duration of the case.
  Also at the prehearing conference, in accordance with
the Order of Notice, the Parties and Staff stated their positions
with regard to the filing. 
  Intelligen stated that approximately 120 of its units
have been installed and operated without complaint in the
northeast involving the service areas of some 20 different
utilities, including PSNH's sister distribution companies,
Connecticut Light and Power and Western Massachusetts Electric
Co., without the imposition of the interconnection requirements
which PSNH seeks to impose.
  PSNH indicated that it was abiding by orders of the
Commission relating to interconnection agreements for qualifying
facilities.    
  Staff stated that it believed that it was necessary to
investigate and to establish a more current policy governing the
safe and reliable interconnection of residential generation units
to PSNH's electric grid and to investigate whether PSNH is
selectively applying a standard regarding electric "flicker". 
Staff indicated that it intended to investigate the risk to the
quality of service standard represented by the Intelligen type of
unit, particularly relating to the potential for any flicker
which could affect the system.
  Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby
  ORDERED, that the proposed procedural schedule
delineated above is approved; and it is   
  FURTHER ORDERED, that full intervention is granted to
Intelligen, Chuck Stata and John Bachhuber.
  By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New
Hampshire this twenty-eighth day of April, 1998.


                                                               
  Douglas L. Patch      Bruce B. Ellsworth     Susan S. Geiger
      Chairman             Commissioner          Commissioner



Attested by:


                               
Claire D. DiCicco
Assistant Secretary