PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 27, 2023
The citizens group behind the campaign to take over Maine’s two electric utilities announced a major endorsement Thursday from U.S. senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. “This year, Mainers are facing price-gouging and immoral disconnection notices from multinational utility companies. Power belongs in the hands of the people, not greedy corporations,” Sanders said. The endorsement by Sanders, the independent from Vermont and longtime liberal icon, comes as Pine Tree Power is being outspent 17-1 by the utilities that are fighting for their survival. The parent companies of Central Maine Power and Versant Power – Avangrid and Enmax, respectively – have given more than $18 million so far to three ballot committees.