Newspaper’s investigation says Maine utility misled public

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The operators of a Maine power company didn’t adequately test a new billing system that proved to be prone to errors when it was rolled out in 2017.

That’s the key finding of an investigation by Portland Press Herald that was published Sunday. The paper reports the failures of Central Maine Power’s $56 million billing system, called SmartCare, are evidence of corporate mismanagement.

CMP is the largest utility in Maine. CMP’s defending the SmartCare rollout and says it’s premature to draw any conclusions from state investigations into the utility that are still going on.

The Press Herald reports the billing problems stretch all the way back to 2010. That was the year the company installed smart meters with the promise of savings. The paper says inaccurate bills have vexed customers.