CENTRAL MAINE • October 19, 2023
The big question for Mainers in the Nov. 7 election will be whether to create Pine Tree Power, charged with routing all the electrons that make up our increasingly vital supply of electricity. Question 3 is a big deal. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong question. The biggest structural problem is the witless 2000 law to “deregulate” electric providers. It’s never produced benefits for residential customers, but split generation and transmission functions, leading to the sale of Maine-based companies to out-of-state interests. This, in turn, produced customer service failures that fueled the referendum against CMP’s power line to Canada — power we’d love to have right now. Then there’s a takeover’s cost, $7-$13 billion. When we get into management that things really go haywire. We should focus on the real need: a public power authority to govern generation that can guide the transition to renewables. ~ Douglas Rooks