PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 1, 2022
Gov. Janet Mills is preparing a bill designed to crack down on electric utility performance issues by using the threat of steep financial penalties or even a forced sale of assets to another company or a consumer-owned entity. Her administration declined to discuss it Tuesday, but the proposal could have the effect of blunting interest in an ongoing campaign to replace Maine’s two investor-owned utilities with a consumer-owned power authority. The bill hasn’t been filed, but the Portland Press Herald obtained a draft copy Tuesday.