SUN JOURNAL • June 28, 2020
Central Maine Power and its U.S. parent, Avangrid, have filed suit against its customers to deny them the right for self-determination in a citizens’ initiative. These outlandish actions are supported by its board of directors, including John Baldacci, former governor of Maine. Baldacci earns $200,000 per year as Avangrid’s vice chair while employed as senior adviser at Pierce Atwood, the lobbying firm. Last year CMP paid Pierce Atwood $3.2 million to represent CMP’s interests at the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The suit comes quick on the heels of a blistering marketing campaign that said, if I don’t vote for the corridor, I am going to be directly responsible for the further demise and hard times of the lobster fishery and the blueberry crop. If Mainers want to meet the challenge of Gov. Janet Mills’ Maine Climate Council, we need to own our grid, plow our profits back into the network, and access growth capital at much lower rates. ~ Sam May, a former Wall Street analyst with significant experience in both Silicon Valley and Hong Kong, Portland