MAINE MONITOR • February 13, 2022
Gov. Janet Mills has proposed a bill which, if adopted, would be intended to make the wires companies publicly accountable. It might expose seriously deficient companies to takeover. Here are major issues with the bill:
1. It gives enormous power to the PUC without adding to its staff or expertise.
2. It provides for performance testing and eventual divestiture of Maine’s COUs, which have presented none of the problems the bill addresses.
3. It strips the Legislature of all powers over the process.
4. It complicates and delays the consideration of a new statewide COU.
5. It is a lengthy procedure, possibly endless.
6. It would ignore existing performance failures and ratings, and start with a blank slate.
7. It would do nothing about rates.
8. It would make divestiture a distant and unlikely possibility.
9. It allows a governor to kill a statewide COU.
10. It lacks funding, which could be considerable.