Opponents of CMP shutoff notices file appeal to reinstate ban

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 26, 2021

A group of residents that has been fighting Central Maine Power’s use of disconnection notices as a warning to customers with unpaid bills filed an appeal Tuesday with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, aiming to reinstate a pandemic-related ban on the practice. The customers, associated with the consumers group CMP Ratepayers Unite, maintain that sending notices during the winter and at the height of the pandemic is “unreasonable” under Maine law. The customers had unsuccessfully lobbied the Maine Public Utilities Commission to extend the emergency moratorium, which expired in November.