The Maine Legislature’s joint Energy, Utility, and Technology Committee has approved a bill that would replace the state’s investor-owned power provider with a state-run operation, a change that some estimate could run ratepayers several billion dollars before potential savings are realized.
The amended proposal, which the committee passed by an 8-1 vote recently, would create a task force to evaluate options for a Maine Power Delivery Authority to take over the assets of the state’s largest providers, Central Maine Power and Versant Power.
LD 1646 now is slated to go before the Maine Legislature for a vote, but lawmakers presently are adjourned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Versant Power is proud of our strong team of 400 employees in northern and eastern Maine who are committed to ensuring safe, reliable service for our customers, as well as the investments we’re making in our local communities,” Judy Long, corporate & media communications specialist with Versant Power (formerly Emera Maine), told the Daily Energy Insider. “A government power takeover would put Mainers on the hook for billions of dollars of additional borrowing and spending at a time when our state already faces enormous challenges due to the pandemic. This bill does not guarantee lower rates or better reliability for customers, and would distract our state from the important work we’re doing to meet renewable energy goals.”
CMP and Emera provided about 95 percent of the state’s power supply as of Dec. 31, 2018, according to data from the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
Supporters of LD 1646 say the upfront costs would be mitigated by savings of roughly $9 billion for Maine in the first 30 years.
Even if the Legislature passes LD 1646, the price tag is unlikely to be known for some time.
“No one has yet identified the true costs of a government takeover of private company assets, or the number of years of litigation and expense this would take,” CMP Executive Chairman David Flanagan said in a July 22 statement. “The Legislature will have to weigh the promises by political advocates inexperienced in running an electric utility against the billions of dollars of investment in critical infrastructure they would put at risk. There are simply too many unknowns.”
