BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2021
There does not seem to be a hurry to find Maine’s next public advocate. The position, created to give customers a voice in how the state’s utilities operate, has been held by longtime public servant Barry Hobbins since 2017, who announced his intent to step down earlier this year. He was appointed by former Gov. Paul LePage, and has served during some of the trickiest utility cases in recent years, including billing and disconnection scandals that have served as the kindling for much of the resentment currently directed at Central Maine Power. At least five people are currently in the running. There will be plenty of work awaiting the next public advocate. For instance, efforts to rein in spending of the utility’s parent company on referendums and to ask voters to create a consumer-owned utility may have failed in the Legislature this session, but the frustration and resentment that spurred those efforts has not, with a referendum meant to block CMP’s powerline project headed to voters this fall.