MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 12, 2021
As Maine economists deeply concerned for our children’s future, we write to share our view of Our Power’s referendum to create the Pine Tree Power Company, a not-for-profit, customer-owned utility for Maine. We strongly support the Our Power referendum. It is an elegant solution that adapts a proven business model to today’s compelling needs. It will save Maine people and businesses billions; will better align our utility’s incentives with those of its customers as we seek to electrify and decarbonize our economy, and will chart a promising pathway for others to follow. ~ Richard Silkman, CEO of Competitive Energy Services and author of “A New Energy Policy Direction for Maine: A Pathway to a Zero-Carbon Economy by 2050;” David Vail, professor of economics emeritus and former director of environmental studies at Bowdoin College; Dick Woodbury, National Bureau of Economic Research and former visiting scholar with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.