MAINE MONITOR • March 13, 2026
Maine must choose between two divergent paths for how to generate electricity in the coming years, according to two reports released this winter that come to different conclusions. Both reports agree New England’s already high electricity costs are bound to rise. The question is which path leads to smaller increases. One report examines what’s driving the state’s rising electricity rates, largely blaming the price volatility of natural gas used to generate power in the region. It suggests continuing on Maine’s path of embracing renewable energy resources and greater efficiency to blunt those increases. The other analysis, released by a group of conservative think tanks, focuses on developing more natural gas capacity, more nuclear power plants or a combination of the two. Developing more renewables, it concludes, would be the most expensive and least reliable option. Missing from either of these reports is an all-of-the-above energy policy, the idea of encouraging whatever helps meet the region’s growing demand for electricity.