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A Central Maine Power lineman worked to restore electricity on March 15, 2023, in Lewiston. Photo by Robert F. Bukaty of the Associated Press.

Electricity customers voice concerns over CMP’s latest rate proposal

On Tuesday, Central Maine Power customers sounded off about their electricity bills at a public hearing on the utility company’s latest request to set new distribution rates, which could increase those bills by more than $200 over the course of a year. 

Demonstrators opposing the proposed rate increase held signs reading “Fight the hike” and “No sneaky rate hike” outside the Lewiston public library where the hearing took place. They acted out a tug-of-war between Maine ratepayers and what they called “CMP profiteers.”

Some attendees supported the utility’s request. Inside the library’s meeting room, a couple dozen electrical linemen wearing union and contractor T-shirts took up the last two rows of seats and spoke in support of Central Maine Power’s plan to hire more local workers.

The company, which serves more than 670,000 customers in southern and central Maine, has said it needs to increase rates to maintain reliable service, especially as climate change leads to worse storms. The proposed rate increase would take effect in stages and average out to approximately $18 per month for a residential customer who uses 550 kilowatt-hours of electricity in a month, according to the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The request must be approved by the three commissioners, who are appointed by the governor and will act as the judge and jury in what’s expected to be a year-long deliberation.

The Trump administration has bought out four more offshore wind leases, this time paying the would-be developer Invenergy $765 million. I’ve seen it reported that two of these leases were in Maine, but that’s not quite true.

They were in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine, including one located approximately 46 nautical miles off the coast of Maine, and the other located about 22 nautical miles from the coast of Massachusetts.

Utility Dive has a good summary of the whole affair.

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