MAINE PUBLIC • November 24, 2020
It turns out there’s a downside to Maine’s solar power boom — a potential $160 million annual hit for electricity consumers here. And it’s a cost hike that in turn could conceivably slow the state’s efforts to reduce global warming pollution from cars and buildings. If all of the solar power now proposed actually comes online, and its owners receive all those “net energy” bill credits, the state’s two largest utilities could lose revenues of $160 million a year or more. And to make sure the poles and wires and utility services needed to keep the lights on are maintained and paid for, that bill will be passed on to all their customers.