Tell the Maine PUC: No $420/year Rate Hike! Stop CMP Corporate Handouts!
CMP says it needs to invest more in the local grid to prevent outages. Fair enough—we all want a stronger, more reliable system.
But to pay for it, CMP wants to jack up rates by $35 a month for the average household—that’s $420 a year. And here’s the catch: much of that increase comes from the very fee they charge us to make those investments. It’s the same fee that helps fuel CMP’s sky-high profits—around $200 million a year—and it’s a fee that regulators have the power to rein in.
Meanwhile, Maine’s electricity rates are already rising faster than anywhere else in the country. Many of us are already struggling to pay our electric bills. More hikes are coming. And thanks to a state-granted monopoly, CMP is guaranteed customers and profits no matter what.
The fees—or “returns on investment”—that regulators allow CMP to collect on its grid investments are higher than what even the most successful investment firms make on their long-term forecasts. And CMP’s deal is lower-risk, because Mainers are required to pay them back.
That’s why regulators must step in. At the very least, they must demand fair fees—not corporate handouts. And it’s up to us to make sure they do. We need to flood the docket with public comments and remind the PUC: stand with Maine people, not CMP’s profits.
Read more here: CMP plan could raise average annual electricity costs by more than $400 Million
Fill out the form below to tell the Maine Public Utilities Commission to put Maine people before CMP profits. The information you provide here is shared with the Maine Public Utilities Commission but no other third party. If you prefer to comment directly through the Commission’s website site go here.