PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2023
Question 3 proposes creating a new publicly owned and controlled power company by taking over the assets of Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power, which together distribute 97% of Maine’s electricity. The new utility, called Pine Tree Power, is the focus of the most prominent of the eight ballot measures facing voters Nov. 7 and is at the center of a multimillion-dollar political fight played out at forums and ads on the internet and elsewhere. Supporters say the arrangement would ensure local control over the new utility, improve reliability, expand renewable energy, and allow borrowing money at lower interest rates to upgrade and expand the grid. Opponents say there would not be great savings, an elected board would be subject to political whims, litigation and politics would delay greater electrification, and directors could postpone or sideline improvements to the reliability and expansion of the grid.