Concord, N.H. - Extending her campaign to secure accountability from Liberty Utilities following the denial of new or expanded natural gas service to Lakes Region customers, Representative Maggie Goodlander, D-NH, has filed discovery questions in the company's rate case at the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.

The inquiries expand on Goodlander's sustained oversight and prior success in bringing Liberty's service refusals in the Lakes Region under formal review, seeking information on the utility's choices, expenses, and schedule for lifting the service restrictions.

Liberty seeks Commission approval for a $35.8 million yearly rise in distribution rates, which would increase a typical residential heating bill by roughly $26 each month, even as it maintains the block on new or expanded service in the Lakes Region.

In June, Goodlander posed 13 questions to Liberty regarding the service halt. The company replied with a five-page letter that left most queries unaddressed, including basic details on decision-makers at the firm, the number of customers rejected, and the expense of pipeline improvements. As an official participant in the rate case, Goodlander can now compel responses via the Commission's discovery procedures.

The questions require Liberty to clarify who imposed the service restrictions, how many customers were turned away and for what reasons, and why essential pipeline work was postponed.

Goodlander further seeks specifics on expenses and timelines for short-term and long-term solutions, potential compensation for impacted customers, and the company's earnings along with transfers to its parent entity.

"For months, households and small enterprises throughout our Lakes Region have faced uncertainty while Liberty has avoided straightforward questions. Who chose to withhold service? Why does the schedule for a lasting solution continue to shift? Who will cover the costs?" said Representative Maggie Goodlander. "New Hampshire families deserve clear responses, dependable service, and genuine responsibility. With our place secured in this proceeding, I am applying every available mechanism to obtain those responses on the record. I will continue until the people I represent receive the information and resolutions they need."

Goodlander has prioritized reduced energy expenses and oversight of investor-owned utilities throughout her congressional service:

Goodlander earlier submitted a petition to join Liberty Utilities' rate case as an intervenor, which the Public Utilities Commission approved last month. After her advocacy, the PUC also decided to examine Liberty's choice to reject new or expanded service in Lakes Region communities, classifying the utility's service restrictions as a matter for this proceeding.
Goodlander called on the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission to review Eversource's authorized 43.4 percent rate hike and supported introduction of the Lowering Utility Bills Act aimed at limiting excessive returns at investor-owned utilities.
She proposed bipartisan legislation across both chambers to speed hydropower output and reduce energy prices, established a bipartisan Hydropower Caucus for the same purpose, and participated in efforts to shield ratepayers from potentially expensive utility deals.
Prior to entering Congress, Goodlander worked as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, where she challenged corporate monopolies that raise costs for families and small businesses.