The consultant will be hired and supervised by the Department to perform the consulting work, and will work at the direction of, and in consultation with, the Department’s Regulatory Support Division. The consultant will work with the Department to identify and develop the topics for discussion at the stakeholder sessions, The consultant shall attend and facilitate discussion at the stakeholder sessions. In concert with the Department and stakeholders, the consultant will identify and develop a formula that meets the criteria identified in Senate Bill 595, that is a formula that fully compensates pole owners for their portion of costs of owning, maintaining, and operating poles arising from pole attachments; does not discriminate among or against any one attaching entity, including the pole owner; is transparent to all parties; and results in just and reasonable rates. The consultant may also assist the Department in the preparation of the report to be submitted to House Science, Technology and Energy and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee of the NH Legislature no later than January 1, 2026. The consultant may be called upon to present the report to the Legislative committees and/or to the Commission as part of its rulemaking proceeding. The consultant shall conduct an initial project scoping meeting with the Department within two weeks of the contract award date. The purpose of the meeting is to review and refine the scope, task and project approach requirements; establish a project plan, with key deliverables and milestone dates; and establish project management and communication protocols to ensure that the information needs of both the Department and the consultant are satisfied. In the process of preparing each deliverable, the consultant(s) will work closely with Department personnel in order to facilitate effective knowledge transfer on each issue. The work of the consultant(s) will be subject to an evaluation of progress achieved against the above-referenced scope and tasks, to take place after completion of key deliverables identified during the project scoping meeting and subsequent regular status and progress meeting.
