MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 21, 2025
As Maine charts increasingly hotter and longer summers, businesses across all industries are planning for more weather extremes — and its impact on their bottom lines. Some are already feeling the effects of hot days on worker productivity and customer demand. Extreme heat manifests in higher energy bills at food banks, art museums and movie theaters. It can mean lower blueberry crop yields, but also longer growing seasons and new opportunities. It brings the dangers of uncomfortable — or unsafe — working conditions for those most exposed to the sun. And while Maine’s temperatures largely remain workable, business leaders say they are watching the thermometer, and their electricity bills, in ways they never needed to before.