BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 17, 2021
When now-Sen. Angus King was still governor, he signed a bill “deregulating” our electricity system. Before that, Bangor Hydro and CMP owned both the power lines as well as the power plants. After deregulation, they were forced to sell off their generation and transition solely to delivery systems. The goal was to lower our electricity prices. Our electricity costs are 80 percent higher than Louisiana, 62 percent more than Washington state, and 48 percent above Virginia. One of the major battlegrounds of the next legislative session will be around ownership of our power lines. CMP continues to fight for the “clean energy corridor” in the courts, while the “Our Power” coalition seeks to replace Versant and CMP with a quasi-government agency. These will be knock-down, drag-out fights. In the meantime, we are supposed to buckle up for rolling blackouts. Here’s hoping Augusta can get past the politics, into the policy, and keep the power on. ~ Michael Cianchette