Bill to form consumer-owned utility rejected by a single vote in Maine Senate

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 18, 2021

The Maine Senate has voted down a bill to form a consumer-owned utility to buy the assets of Central Maine Power and Versant Power, reversing the results of initial Senate action. The measure passed the Senate a day earlier on a preliminary vote of 19-16, but it failed by a single vote on final enactment, 17-18. There was no debate in the Senate chamber on the matter Thursday, and an effort to keep the bill alive early Friday morning in the House was rejected as the Legislature adjourned. Had the measure been approved by the Legislature, it faced a likely veto from Gov. Janet Mills.