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AP: Maine considers electrifying proposal that would give the boot to corporate electric utilities
Maine considers electrifying proposal that would give the boot to corporate electric utilitiesBY DAVID SHARP
Updated 12:11 AM EST, November 5, 2023
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Taking a page from the “throw-the-bums-out” script in politics, Mainers are poised to vote on an unprecedented plan to rid themselves of the state’s two largest electric utilities and start with a clean slate.
The proposed takeover of two investor-owned utilities that distribute 97% of electricity in the state would mark the first time a U.S. state’s utilities were forcibly removed at the same time. The referendum calls for dismantling Central Maine Power and Versant Power and replacing them with a nonprofit utility called Pine Tree Power to operate 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) of transmission lines.
Across the country, ratepayers who are unhappy with their utilities are watching what happens when Mainers vote on Nov. 7 in the off-year election.
“What we say about state policy and trends is that it could become contagious,” said Timothy Cox, from Washington-based Clear View Energy Partners.
…
Updated 12:11 AM EST, November 5, 2023
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Taking a page from the “throw-the-bums-out” script in politics, Mainers are poised to vote on an unprecedented plan to rid themselves of the state’s two largest electric utilities and start with a clean slate.
The proposed takeover of two investor-owned utilities that distribute 97% of electricity in the state would mark the first time a U.S. state’s utilities were forcibly removed at the same time. The referendum calls for dismantling Central Maine Power and Versant Power and replacing them with a nonprofit utility called Pine Tree Power to operate 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) of transmission lines.
Across the country, ratepayers who are unhappy with their utilities are watching what happens when Mainers vote on Nov. 7 in the off-year election.
“What we say about state policy and trends is that it could become contagious,” said Timothy Cox, from Washington-based Clear View Energy Partners.
…