What’s the problem?
Most of Maine’s electrical grid is run by two unpopular companies, Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant Power.
CMP is owned by a Spanish company named Iberdrola whose largest shareholder is the Qatar Investment & Projects Development Holding Company.
Versant is entirely owned by the Canadian city of Calgary.
Maine has some of the least reliable and most expensive power in the USA. This is largely because Versant and CMP invest in infrastructure projects, equipment, lobbying, and public opinion campaigns that put profits before reliability and service.
Neither of these abentee owners have to live with the effects of their policies.
Despite the condition of our grid and its mismanagement, electricity is being used for more and more purposes like climate controlled buildings, transportation, and industry. Responding to these demands while eliminating emissions will require a more-reliable, and renewables-centric grid—one that Versant and CMP aren’t building as it directly confronts their ability to make profits.
The predatory, anti-consumer, profits-first practices of these companies have repeatedly resulted in investigations, fines, lawsuits, and settlements. While the PUC has the authority to reign-in these companies more than they have, they have not taken such actions. These practices by our utillities continue to deprive Mainers of their power, money, and dignity; they will not stop until we have control of our grid.
What can we do about it?
The people of Maine can buy forcibly back our grid and restructure it as a consumer-owned utility (COU). COUs already serve some portions of Maine (such as Kennebunk and the area around Houlton) and the whole state of Nebraska, which has cheaper electricity rates than all its non-COU neighbors. Nationally, COUs serve 43 million people.
A non-profit COU owned by the people of Maine could do routine borrowing at cheaper rates than those available to CMP, saving Maine billions of dollars on dearly needed grid maintenance and improvement.
New solar and wind power is already cheaper than new coal, oil, gas, and nuclear and is getting cheaper all the time. To deliver mass quantities of green, low-cost renewable power, tomorrow’s grid must be prepared for both small-scale distributed generation and distribution of power from large-scale generation and power storage. These changes are coming and a COU will do it cheaper while increasing accountability and input to this process.
A COU would also be tasked with speeding deployment of universal broadband access in Maine.
Public Power would mean cheaper, more reliable, greener power for Maine!
How would a COU work?
Maine ratepayers would buy Versant’s and CMP’s share of the grid at fair market price using money raised by low-interest revenue bonds paid for by electricity sales. The resulting COU would be a regulated nonprofit, not an arm of the State. Towns would continue to get the same property tax income they now get from Versant and CMP. Utility workers would keep their jobs and union contracts, are guaranteed bonuses for staying with the company, and future labor must be offered to employees before contractors may be used to cut costs.
The COU’s executive board would be elected by the people of Maine. This model helps ensure direct accountability to the customers who rely on the utility service.
After a study comissioned from London Economics International, a bipartisan bill that would have enabled Mainers to vote on whether they want a COU was passed in 2021. Unfortunately, this was vetoed Governor Janet Mills who critiqued its lack of “robust public participation” despite an incredible 9+ hours of public comment on the issue and multiple rallies of supporters at the statehouse.
Fortunately, the people of Maine still have an option: we can put the proposal on the 2023 ballot as a citizen’s initiative. To do so, we need to collect about 75,000 signatures by October 2022. Do you want to see this happen? Join us in bringing about this historic and much-needed change for all the people of Maine.
Who is Maine Public Power?
Maine Public Power—a project of Maine DSA—is part of the Our Power coalition. We believe the people of Maine deserve accountable utilities they can influence via direct, democratic involvement. In early 2021, we supported passage of LD 1708 in the state legislature. Now, after the governor’s veto, we are working with coalition partners to bring the vote to Mainers via citizen’s initiative.