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Power lines converge on a Central Maine Power substation in Pownal in May 2019. Photo by Robert F. Bukaty of the Associated Press.

Iberdrola must open its books as CMP seeks greater profits in ongoing rate case, Maine utility regulator says

The proceedings over Central Maine Power’s latest request for a rate increase have taken another unprecedented turn. On Wednesday, the Maine Public Utilities Commission asked the electric utility to hand over internal documents from its multinational parent company, Iberdrola, which could offer insight into how the company estimates how much it needs to earn to cover expenses and appease investors.

“This appears to be the first time that any multinational corporation in the U.S. has been forced in a rate case to divulge its own internal math,” said Seth Berry, a former Democratic state legislator who now leads Our Power, a nonprofit that advocates for affordable clean energy in Maine and is participating in the case as an intervenor.

The electric utility has asked the Maine Public Utilities Commission for permission to raise distribution rates by an average of $18 per month for residential customers, which would increase the company’s return on equity, currently capped at 9.35 percent, to 9.8 percent.

Lori Valigra at our partner newsroom the Bangor Daily News had a pair of stories this week about efforts to protect Maine’s forests from the spruce budworm and other harmful insects. First, Irving Woodlands, the largest owner of forested land in the state, has a long-running program to produce and plant trees inoculated with fungi, which help them tolerate budworms. 

At the same time, the Maine Forest Service is trying a new “early intervention” strategy to control the spruce budworm. It is spraying insecticides in a more targeted way, covering the most heavily infested areas just when the budworms are coming out of hibernation. The approach seems to be working, Valigra reported.

Fairfield to update 1980 waste ordinance to address PFAS and Sappi landfill license | Monitor Local

After years of legal challenges, Kingfish Maine is pushing for help to proceed with 22-acre aquaculture project in Jonesport | Monitor Local

Lobstermen propose enlarging fishing area in the waters of Englishman Bay for small-scale operators | Monitor Local

Contributor Derrick Z. Jackson brought us good news earlier this week: Eastern Egg Rock has a record-breaking 200 active puffin burrows this summer. People had hunted puffins off the island in the 1880s, then brought them back beginning in the 1970s.

“The restoration was the world’s first successful effort to return a seabird to an island where it had been eliminated by humans,” Jackson wrote. Scientists with the Audubon Seabird Institute now visit the island every summer to check on the puffins.

The following stories are from other newsrooms. While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind a paywall, some newsrooms we link to below may. Paywalled stories are followed by a ($). We encourage you to consider supporting local Maine newsrooms.

Maine lobster defamation suit hits choppy waters | Portland Press Herald ($)

How Maine farmers are weathering climate change | Portland Press Herald ($)

Seeking lower prices, Maine PUC changes electric purchase process | Maine Public

Maine plans major energy storage buildout | Maine Public

Solar companies partnering with Maine farmers for land management | WMTW

Unusual whale sightings in Maine draw onlookers to shores of Penobscot Bay | Bangor Daily News ($)

Thousands of fish may have died in Penobscot River dam shutdown | Bangor Daily News ($)

Maine DEP addresses discovery of toxic chemicals in Limerick wells | News Center Maine

Historic land deal clinched, conserving 78k acres in western Maine | Portland Press Herald ($)

Gorham residents look to slow Amazon development over environmental concerns | Portland Press Herald ($)

State plan to expand Maine’s biggest landfill back in court | Portland Press Herald ($)

Maine solar customers lose electric bill credits after project developers miss state payments | PV Magazine

All that wildfire smoke sent New England's solar production plummeting | WBUR

Have feedback, a correction or know of something we should look into? Send it to our newsroom. You can also email The Monitor's editors: editors@themainemonitor.org.  

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.

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