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As Maine citizens, are people sick and tired of essentially being held hostage by Maine’s two current major power companies? Good news! There is a light at the end of this very dark tunnel: At this year’s Nov. 7 election, a ballot measure will be available for Maine voters, the passage of which could bring much needed relief to the Maine public through the creation of Pine Tree Power. Pine Tree Power will be a new, consumer-owned, non-profit utility, which will do many things to resolve Maine’s current tragic state of affairs in the power arena.
Pine Tree Power would: be consumer-owned, controlled and governed by a locally elected board of directors; and potentially save Mainers money.
Central Maine Power and Versant charge Mainers an average of 49 percent more than consumer-owned utilities. Mainers currently pay the 10th highest residential electricity rates in the United States. With Pine Tree Power, Mainers could save over $9 billion ($375/year net savings for the average consumer) in electricity costs beginning the first year that Pine Tree Power is in operation.
It could reduce power outages by building a local power grid that Mainers can trust. I believe
CMP and Versant have neglected Maine’s power grid, leaving Maine with some of the most frequent power outages in the U.S. I think Pine Tree Power will be a trusted partner. With a nonprofit utility at the helm, our money could stay in Maine to make the investments required to substantially reduce outages.
Penelope Andrews
Hermon
