Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
When entering an antique store, the owner will state, “If you break it, you will own it!” So, in November, if Mainers vote to break our current utility companies (such as Central Maine Power), we will own Pine Tree Power (PTP). What will owning PTP mean to most Mainers? According to the supporters of PTP, it will be a not-for-profit electric utility, governed by a board of elected members, and dedicated to clean energy independence, lower costs, better reliability and improved internet.
Indeed, a large number of Mainers are concerned about astronomical utility bills and, at times, power outages. These two basic concerns are some personal reasons for the establishment of PTP. However, where are the guarantees for “lower costs” and “reduced” power outages if we own PTP? An adage states, “There are only two guarantees in life — death and taxes.” For ordinary Mainers, therefore, what future assurances and/or guarantees can PTP make to reducing electricity costs and reducing power outages?
Common sense dictates that neither CMP nor PTP, or any utility for that matter, can issue firm guarantees for the future. Why? Can CMP or PTP anticipate the future cost of fuel, employee salaries, new legislation, purchasing/maintaining equipment, etc. Can CMP or PTP predict the most significant factor influencing future costs — the effects of climate change and global warming on Maine? In the next few decades, we will/may experience higher temperatures, drought, increased/decreased rainfall, enhanced/reduced snowfall, severe flooding, severe winds, hurricanes and more. These aforementioned factors will all have a significant influence on the provision of electrical power and the occurrence of power outages, and their respective costs.
So, Maine citizens should demand a detailed “plan of action” by PTP, which addresses these many concerns and specifically guarantees lower costs before we break CMP and own PTP! If no plan, why own PTP?
John M. Mishler
Harpswell