CRE State Tracker

Scenario lens

Match states to a project type

Choose the kind of project you have in mind. The lens highlights states where the CRE legal record looks more workable for that project type, using the same legal questions, cautions, and source-backed evidence as the main tracker.

Scope note: these matches only reflect CRE-specific legal fit. A lower match does not mean a state is unattractive for data centers, industrial growth, energy investment, or large-load development. It means the current record does not yet show a clear CRE path for this project type. Broader factors such as general energy policy, land-use rules, land availability, local permitting, and local opposition are outside this lens.

Scenario map

Data center campus

The map recolors all states for this project type. It shows project fit, not the state's overall legal signal.

Strong fit8

Conditional fit3

Watchlist10

Not a fit yet29

Loading scenario map...

Data center campus

A very large power user looking for dedicated private generation or a closed private system.

What this lens checks

rules for very large customersprivate generation or off-grid servicerelief from full utility regulationpermission for private wires or facilities

Most relevant states

8 shown

State brief

New Hampshire

AI-assisted classification based on linked legal sources and the same review method used for every state.

Supportive

Opportunity

High opportunity

Confidence

Confidence A

Archetype

explicit CRE

Opportunity gap

Bottom line

State law appears generally supportive of CRE-style private power service.

New Hampshire is the clearest state example because House Bill 672 created an express category for off-grid electricity providers. The current record treats that enactment as strong evidence of islanded-provider legality and a meaningful exemption signal, while noting that project implementation and customer-eligibility details still require line-by-line legal review.

Most relevant CRE path: Off-grid provider, Private generation for large loads. Main caution: Limited customer class.

New Hampshire pairs a real legal pathway with first-mover policy visibility, so the opportunity signal is high even though deployment evidence is still thin.

Likely pathway

Off-grid provider

The state has a specific lane for a third-party off-grid electricity provider.

Private generation for large loads

The clearest path is private generation serving large or sophisticated customers.

What would make this stronger?

New Hampshire is already in the strongest public signal category; the most useful next evidence would be implementation guidance and project-level proof that confirms the statute works as intended.

Introduced bills count as weak positive evidence, but they do not change current law unless enacted or implemented through binding authority.

Questions to ask

Practical questions for testing whether the CRE path works in this state.

Can the project operate separately from the utility grid?

Yes

The legal record clearly supports separate operation. Official bill materials describe an off-grid electricity provider pathway independent from the regulated grid.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status

Would the provider avoid ordinary public-utility economic regulation?

Yes

The legal record clearly supports an exemption from ordinary utility economic regulation. The legislative materials expressly describe exemption from certain regulations when the system remains off-grid.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis

Can a nonutility provider serve eligible customers by contract?

Yes

The legal record clearly supports contract service to eligible customers. The draft record treats the New Hampshire pathway as allowing contracted service beyond pure self-supply, subject to final text review.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis Cato briefing paper on Consumer-Regulated Electricity

Does the authority go beyond self-supply, affiliates, or on-site-only use?

Broader path

The record supports a path broader than narrow self-supply. The current record reads HB 672 as creating a provider category broader than simple on-premises self-generation.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status

Are private wires or other project infrastructure clearly allowed?

Plausible path

The bill provides a meaningful infrastructure path, though local siting and permitting details still need review.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis

Would the project need commission approval, certification, or a public-interest finding?

No major approval flag

The current blocker profile does not flag approval dependency as the main reason for caution, though ordinary permitting and implementation review may still matter.

New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status

Is the path limited by customer type, size, location, tenant, or affiliate status?

Customer limits matter

The record indicates that the relevant pathway is constrained by customer type, load size, location, affiliation, district boundaries, or a similar eligibility condition.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis Cato briefing paper on Consumer-Regulated Electricity New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status

Why this category?

Key legal questions behind the traffic-light signal

Separate or off-grid system allowed

clear

What this meansDetails

This asks whether state law recognizes an electricity system that can operate separately from the regulated utility grid. Strong evidence might include an off-grid provider law, a microgrid law that allows island mode, or a private-generation framework that can serve load without ordinary utility delivery.

State finding: Official bill materials describe an off-grid electricity provider pathway independent from the regulated grid.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status

Exemption from public-utility regulation

clear

What this meansDetails

This asks whether a CRE provider avoids being regulated like a conventional public utility for rates, certificates, service terms, or similar economic regulation. The exemption matters because a private project may be technically possible but commercially impractical if it still faces the full public-utility regime.

State finding: The legislative materials expressly describe exemption from certain regulations when the system remains off-grid.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis

Service to eligible large customers by contract

clear

What this meansDetails

This asks whether a nonutility provider can contract with the kinds of customers CRE is most likely to serve first: large, sophisticated, usually nonresidential loads. Stronger records say this directly instead of requiring an inference from market structure or project activity.

State finding: The draft record treats the New Hampshire pathway as allowing contracted service beyond pure self-supply, subject to final text review.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis Cato briefing paper on Consumer-Regulated Electricity

Allowed beyond self-supply or on-site use

clear

What this meansDetails

This asks whether the pathway goes beyond a customer generating power only for itself, an affiliate, a tenant, or one on-site use. CRE is stronger when the law allows a real provider-customer relationship, not just a narrow self-supply exception.

State finding: The current record reads HB 672 as creating a provider category broader than simple on-premises self-generation.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status

Main blockers

Limited customer class

Operational boundaries for customer classes, siting, safety, and environmental approvals still need human review.
The tracker does not yet parse codified statutory text beyond official bill-status materials.
No project pipeline has been attached yet to show post-enactment execution.

Key statutes and bills

HB 672 (2025) - described by the New Hampshire General Court as allowing off-grid electricity providers and exempting them from certain regulations while independent from the regulated grid.

Supporting evidence factors

These items help test whether the path is practical. The site shows strength of evidence, not a public numeric score.

Utility-regulation exemption

Strong support

What this meansDetails

This measures how clearly the law keeps a qualifying provider, transaction, district, or system out of ordinary utility economic regulation.

State evidence: The exemption signal is the strongest documented component in the current record.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis

Separate or off-grid operation

Strong support

What this meansDetails

This measures how clearly the record supports physical or operational separation from the regulated grid. That separation helps distinguish private CRE service from ordinary retail delivery over utility wires.

State evidence: Official materials strongly support a wholly separate off-grid path.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status

Eligible customers and contract freedom

Strong support

What this meansDetails

This measures whether the pathway can serve real customers, especially large nonresidential, industrial, data-center, campus, or other sophisticated loads that can contract around risk and reliability needs.

State evidence: The record strongly supports contracted service for eligible customers, while leaving room for human review on customer-class boundaries.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis Cato briefing paper on Consumer-Regulated Electricity

Private wires or infrastructure path

Some support

What this meansDetails

This measures whether a project has a plausible legal way to build or use the needed infrastructure, such as private wires, microgrid facilities, district boundaries, rights-of-way, adjacent-property rules, or other delivery authority.

State evidence: The bill provides a meaningful infrastructure path, though local siting and permitting details still need review.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis

Cost protection for existing utility customers

Some support

What this meansDetails

This measures whether the rules protect existing utility customers from being left with unfair costs. Clear cost protections can make CRE-style reforms more durable.

State evidence: Operating outside the regulated grid is a strong draft signal for limiting ratepayer cost-shift concerns.

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis

Enacted authority or implementation evidence

Some support

What this meansDetails

This measures whether the signal comes from enacted or binding authority rather than only a proposal, concept paper, or market rumor. Enacted law does not guarantee success, but it is much stronger than an introduced bill.

State evidence: This is enacted authority, not just a bill proposal or concept memo.

New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status

Real project evidence

Some support

What this meansDetails

This measures whether the pathway is being used or seriously implemented. Project activity can support confidence, but it cannot replace missing legal authority.

State evidence: The law is enacted, but the tracker still lacks a strong post-enactment project proof point.

Cato briefing paper on Consumer-Regulated Electricity

Projects and examples

Cato identifies New Hampshire as the first state to enact a stand-alone CRE-style off-grid provider bill.
Project-level proof points are still pending additional primary-source collection.

Sources

Statutes and bills

New Hampshire HB 672 bill text and analysis
Official legislative text page for HB 672-FN.
Open source
New Hampshire HB 672 current legislation status
Official bill-status page showing passage.
Open source

Regulator materials

New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
Reference point for ordinary utility regulation.
Open source

Analysis

Cato briefing paper on Consumer-Regulated Electricity
Published February 3, 2026.
Open source