Electricity Maine would be required to issue up to $5 million in refunds to customers, under a proposed settlement with the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
The company, which offers an alternative to the state’s “standard offer” for electricity supply, is under scrutiny for allegedly moving customers, without sufficient notice, from fixed to variable rates, and allegedly charging rates that caused some customers’ bills to balloon by hundreds of dollars per month.
A proposed stipulation between the company and the commission’s staff would require Electricity Maine to pay up to $5 million to refund about 18,000 current and former customers, and work to improve customer service moving forward.
But the stipulation does not have support from Maine Public Advocate Bill Harwood. Harwood said Electricity Maine needs to offer more money in refunds to customers, and also noted that the company has now repeatedly violated consumer protection rules. His office believes the utilities commission should revoke its license.
“Violating the Maine consumer protection rules is not an option, and it can never be sort of business as usual, whatever slap on the wrist you get is factored into the cost of doing business,” Harwood said.
In a brief, commission staff said that they prioritized returning funds to customers of Electricity Maine, and “placed less weight on securing an administrative penalty, which would not result in funds being returned to customers and placed less weight on a suspension or revocation of license, which could likely not be reached through negotiation and would require a litigated outcome.”
Electricity Maine declined to comment, but in a brief, acknowledged that it renewed customers from fixed to variable contracts, and that the transition created confusion for some customers. The company said that every affected customer who has not received a refund will receive up to two months of compensation.
A commission spokesperson said that filings are currently being reviewed, and once complete, the commission will “determine next steps.”
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
