Bill to replace CMP, Versant with consumer-owned power gains committee approval

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 1, 2021

An amended bill to create a consumer-owned electricity distribution utility in Maine cleared a key hurdle Tuesday when it was strongly endorsed by a legislative committee, setting it on course for consideration by the full Legislature and, ultimately, Maine voters. By a 9-2 margin, with two lawmakers absent, the Energy, Utilities and Technology committee voted ought-to-pass on L.D. 1708. The bill would force the state’s two dominant, investor-owned utilities, Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power, to sell their assets and set in motion the creation of Pine Tree Power Co., a privately operated, nonprofit company controlled by an elected board. David Flanagan, CMP’s executive board chair, said, “The proposed legislation would increase rates, put Maine customers on the hook for $13 billion or more in acquisition costs, create uncertainty for CMP’s 650 union workers and put more than 350 good-paying professional jobs in jeopardy so that a politically elected board – with no utility expertise – can take over the operation of the Maine grid.”