CMP’s parent company has spent nearly $3M to quash utility buyout referendum

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 18, 2022

The parent company for Central Maine Power Co., Avangrid, has poured nearly $3 million into a new political committee since September in an effort to quash a referendum aiming to replace the embattled utility with an elected board. The fight over a consumer-owned utility could die down in the coming months as proponents may not have enough signatures for a referendum this year, although the question could still make the ballot in 2023. The large spending teases another massive race over utility policy after voters rejected the CMP corridor last year after $90 million in campaign spending.