Maine residents are about to be bombarded with a public relations campaign aimed at saving the state’s two dominant electric utilities from being voted out of existence this November. Via The Guardian:
If Mainers vote yes, they will make history – endorsing a first-of-its-kind plan to create a state-level, public power company through a hostile takeover.
But the parent companies of the existing utilities are spending millions to try and stop that.
It’s a vote which experts say could reverberate around the country as legacy, investor-owned utilities are being challenged to decarbonize while state officials adopt more aggressive climate agendas amid customer frustration at high rates and outages.
“This is one ship they don’t want to see launched,” said Kenneth Colburn, a former consultant with the global energy policy firm Regulatory Assistance Project, speaking about investor-backed utilities across the US. “Because it could turn into an armada.”
If the issue passes, things won't change anytime soon:
But how voters cast their ballots may come down to an article of faith. That’s because voters won’t have a definite date for the creation of the new entity, nor certainty on how it would affect their electric bills. If the ballot initiative to create Pine Tree Power wins, that’s just the beginning. Next, the value of each utility’s assets must be calculated and paid to the companies. The companies are currently worth some $5.4bn, according to their latest company reports. But CMP says the ultimate sales figure could jump to $13.5bn.
And no one can be sure how many years it could take for the inevitable legal challenges to play out. Our Power estimates three-to-four years. Maine Affordable Energy says 10 years is more likely.
As part of their influence campaign, the utilities are paying three former Maine legislators to persuade Mainers to vote “no” on the Pine Tree Power plan, public records and interviews show.
