BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 20, 2023
Gov. Janet Mills used a Wednesday radio address to formally oppose Question 3, the November referendum that would replace Maine’s two largest utilities with one governed by an elected board. The Democratic governor’s opposition is no surprise: Mills vetoed legislation in 2021 to create a consumer-owned utility, a step that led to this year’s referendum, which she criticized earlier this month in a Maine Public interview as “a simple solution to a very complex problem.” The referendum, if approved by voters, would have the state buy out the infrastructure of Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power and create a new Pine Tree Power Co. that would be overseen by seven elected board members and six appointed experts.