Voters in Maine will decide whether they want to oust the state's main utility companies and replace them with a nonprofit, publicly owned utility called Pine Tree Power.
, felling trees, knocking down power lines, and wiping out electricity for nearly half a million people. Larissa Smith, a longtime Maine resident who was living in Freeport at the time, lost power at her home for nearly three weeks.
In 2019, former state Rep. Seth Berry introduced a bill to create a public power authority for Maine. He said the change would make energy more affordable. But he also said that investor-owned utilities like CMP and Versant have impeded efforts to electrify Maine. Decarbonizing Maine's economy will require huge investments, as well as an expansion the capacity of the power grid.
“Now you have to educate people so that when the attack ads and disinformation campaign gets going, they are resilient enough to stick with why this makes sense for them to vote for it,” Fulford said. “That’s a whole nother campaign.”opposed to the Pine Tree Power referendum, according to the Maine Ethics Commission, a state agency that tracks campaign finance.
If a publicly owned, statewide utility were created, it would first need to purchase all the power infrastructure, like these poles and wires in Portland, from the existing utilities Central Maine Power and Versant. However, Pine Tree Power would first face an uphill legal battle against the legacy utilities. Ritch argued that the ensuing litigation and bureaucratic delays involved in buying out the utilities would take up to 10 years to resolve, a timeline often repeated in the opposition’s ads.
“Can anyone here name someone who serves on the CMP or Versant board?” she asked the 50 or so people sitting on folding chairs and squinting against the bright sun.“Do you think their email addresses are online? They are not. Mine, on the other hand, is, and so is my cell number,” she said. “That’s the difference between someone who’s working in the public’s best interest, who’s elected by the public, and someone that’s been put there because of their financial interests.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Watch Chris Pine's Villain Come to LifeThe team behind Disney’s upcoming animated film Wish broke down how Chris Pine’s villainous King Magnifico came to be.
Read more »
Maine State Police respond to criticism as governor launches independent commissionGov. Janet Mills said she's launching an independent commission to investigate.
Read more »
President Biden, first lady to visit Maine community after deadliest shooting in state historyPresident Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Maine this week to offer their condolences to the Lewiston community after the deadliest mass shooting in state history.
Read more »
Sports gambling opens in Maine on Friday after months of planningLegalized sports gambling on sports will be available in Maine starting Friday, following months of discussion about how to roll it out.
Read more »
High school football rivalry game in Maine played 1 week after mass shootingLewiston, Maine took another tentative step in its recovery from the state's deadliest mass shooting as a storied high school football rivalry resumed Wednesday night.
Read more »
High school football rivals in Maine come together in emotional game after mass shootingLewiston, Maine, has taken another step in its recovery from the state’s deadliest mass shooting as a storied high school football rivalry resumes
Read more »