15-05-2025
Lawmakers hear late session effort to tackle ‘twin challenge' of high costs, harmful emissions
A coal-fired power plant belches emissions. (Michigan Advance)
A Maine lawmaker introduced a late-session, bipartisan bill that she hopes will address what she called the 'twin challenges' of high energy costs and harmful fossil fuel emissions.
Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) outlined the several ways LD 1949 will address those problems during a public hearing Thursday before the Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. It includes protections for vulnerable populations against power disconnection, enhanced utility accountability and environmental justice requirements.
'Taken on the whole, the intent is really to make sure that we are having and working toward a system that works as well for customers as it does for energy executives,' said Lucy Hochschartner, climate and clean energy director for Maine Conservation Voters, who spoke in support of the bill.
Though the Office of Public Advocate, the Governor's Energy Office and the Public Utilities Commission said the intent of the legislation is commendable, they all testified neither for nor against the bill and raised concerns about unintended consequences of the sweeping proposal. The commission and the Office of Public Advocate recommended carrying the bill over to the next session to allow for more time to refine the details.
The public hearing comes just one day before the deadline for committees to submit their carry-over requests to the presiding officers. However, that deadline is somewhat of a moving target and the presiding officers have final say over what can be pushed to the second regular session, which begins January 2026.
Carney described her bill to the committee as 'a meaningful step toward making sure our energy systems work for everyone, not just those who can afford to keep up.' To take that step, the legislation has four parts, with the first seeking to bolster overcharge and disconnection protections for ratepayers.
Lawmaker argues it's a 'moral imperative' to address high energy costs alongside climate change
The legislation would prohibit utilities from disconnecting services for customers who haven't paid, if the customer is 65 years or older, experiencing financial hardship, has certain medical conditions, attempted to access an assistance program or has a child under the age of 1 living there.
Versant Power, one of Maine's two largest private utility companies, opposed the bill, citing multiple concerns, including that the disconnection provisions could increase costs for other ratepayers and could violate customer privacy, given the health and age details those new provisions could hinge on.
Carney's legislation also hopes to address an issue raised in a recent annual report from the Maine Office of the Public Advocate. Per that report, between 2016 and 2023, competitive providers charged households $135 million more than what would have been charged by the standard offer for electricity supply.
To prevent that and ensure that assistance program dollars aren't being overspent, Carney said the bill would prohibit competitive electricity providers from entering into a contract with a household that has received low-income assistance unless the Public Utilities Commission finds that the customer would in fact receive a lower rate.
The second portion of LD 1949 seeks to strengthen utility accountability by limiting what expenses can be passed onto ratepayers. These include costs related to travel, lodging and food for utility company officers, among other expenditures related to investor relations and rate case proceedings.
Though aimed at energy utilities, the Maine Water Utilities Association said it would also be swept up into the requirements outlined in the proposal. Water utilities in Maine are typically small and only receive revenue through rates, so David Parent, superintendent of the Sanford Water District, said the limitations on what costs can be passed onto ratepayers would pose challenges for them.
He also said most water utilities likely won't have the software needed to track the demographics to consider in disconnections.
Unless the bill is amended to carve out water utilities, Parent asked the committee not to move forward with the legislation.
Because accurate data is key to ensuring utility laws benefit Maine people, Carney said her proposal also includes improved reporting metrics. Under her bill, utilities with over 50,000 customers would be required to file quarterly reports with the Public Utilities Commission with information on overdue accounts, disconnections, reconnections and payment plans.
The commission would also be required to conduct proceedings at least once every five years to review the administrative charges collected by the utility companies.
The final piece of LD 1949 targets the other side of the dual challenge Carney outlined by requiring the Public Utilities Commission to incorporate environmental justice principles into its work. There is a lengthy definition for 'environmental justice' included in the bill to mean fair treatment of all people with respect to the implementation and enforcement of environmental laws.
The legislation also includes a labor component by requiring that a certain percentage of labor hours for construction and repair projects for energy generation facilities are performed by qualified apprentices.
Reed & Reed, a construction company that has built numerous wind energy projects in the state, opposed the bill largely because of the last section. Since the company has struggled to retain a workforce in some of the most rural parts of the state, they argued the apprenticeship requirements seem unsustainable.
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