PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A bipartisan group of Maine legislators have introduced a bill that would allow a consumer-owned nonprofit corporation to take over state utility services from Central Maine Power and Versant Power.
Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, said Monday that the bill, which has not been finalized, will allow Pine Tree Power Co. to improve service, reduce prices and help the state meet its sustainability and clean energy goals.
“These companies have failed us,” Berry said. “Every month, the 800,000 captive customers of CMP and Versant pay monopoly rent for the use of a monopoly grid. With Pine Tree Power, we will pay a lower monthly bill. This will no longer be a rental payment, but a mortgage payment. We will save money, invest in and improve our grid, and build our own equity.”
The exact language in the bill is unavailable, however, Berry says it will direct the Maine Public Utilities Commission to revoke the monopoly status of the state’s two largest power distribution companies and force them to sell their assets to the new corporation, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The consumer-owned utility will purchase Central Maine Power and Versant Power assets utilizing low-interest bonds, according to Berry. The proposal would not use tax dollars and the company will not be owned by the state government.
The companies board of directors will be elected by ratepayers and, with the exception of top executives, no jobs will be lost in the transition.
“Right now, foreign corporations rake in billions of dollars from Maine while we are left in the dark ages, with inadequate infrastructure to serve us today, let alone tomorrow,” said Sen. Rick Bennett, a Republican from Oxford.
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