PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 14, 2025
State utility regulators are holding public hearings this week on Central Maine Power Co.’s proposed 5-year plan to upgrade the state’s aging electrical grid and raise rates to fund the work. The company last month asked the Public Utilities Commission for permission to increase customers’ monthly bills by about $35 between 2026 and 2031, using the new revenue to hire hundreds of workers and install stronger poles, upgraded substations and better protected wires. CMP is the largest electric utility in the state, serving about 660,000 residents and businesses. The plan has prompted some of the strongest backlash in years, with Gov. Janet Mills condemning the proposed rate hike as “unacceptable” and more than 700 public comments already filed by Tuesday morning. The Maine Office of the Public Advocate offers information and advice on how to effectively testify at a public hearing online. To provide virtual testimony at Wednesday’s hearing RSVP by emailing PUCPublicHearing@Maine.gov or calling 207-287-3831 by the end of Tuesday.