Voters in Maine yesterday (Nov. 7) resoundingly rejected creating a statewide public power system to replace the Pine Tree State’s two investor-owned electric distribution utilities, CMP and Versant. Question 3 on the statewide ballot would have created Pine Tree Power Co., a state-wide transmission and distribution retail utility governed by an elected board. The new public power utility would acquire all the assets of CMP (the dominant electric company in the state) and Versant.
According to Ballotpedia, with 77% of the state’s precincts reporting, the “no” vote stood at 250,204, or 69.25%, versus 111,090 “yes” votes, or 30.75%. The Portland Press Herald commented, “Critics said that because CMP is part of Avangrid, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, a large Spanish utility, and Versant Power is owned by Enmax, a Calgary energy company, they are distant, unresponsive and send their profits out of Maine. Opponents of Question 3 say buying the two utilities at a price tag of between $6 billion and $13 billion would result in burdensome debt just as utilities need to spend money to upgrade the grid to confront the impacts of climate change.”
The incumbent utilities vastly outspent the Pine Tree Power proponents, $38 million to $1.2 million. As the results became clear, CMP issued a statement saying it is “turning the page,” adding, ““As we look forward, we must continue to modernize our grid to support Maine’s climate change goals, connect new renewable resources and electrify our communities.”
Lucy Hochschartner, deputy campaign manager for Our Power, the group behind the ballot question, said the vote was “just the beginning. I came here excited to be working every day on this campaign because I am terrified for my future and I need a utility that that is going to be working for me. That would have been Pine Tree Power. It is not and never has been and never will be CMP and Versant.”