PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 16, 2025
Affordability of energy costs and especially electricity were discussed recently by a panel of the Maine Legislature. One statement stood out as questionable: “…a wave of solar development…created a multimillion dollar burden for electric customers.” I do not see a charge on my electric bill attributable to solar development. What has changed is the cost of “delivery” or transmission of electricity to the rate-paying customer. The Public Utilities Commission approved utilities to recover storm damage costs suffered during the winter 2022 storms. Despite that these were considered “100- year storms,” we are paying off the damage in two to three years. The way to improve the affordability of Maine electric power is 1) to mitigate the infrastructure damage done by coastal and winter storms, and 2) to produce as much power as possible locally, to limit our dependence on transmission lines, which represent the most expensive part of our power bills. It may even be worth consideration of public ownership of the delivery infrastructure. Sustainable energy sources contribute to both goals, unlike fossil fuels. ~ Thom Moore, former NASA scientist, Scarborough