PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 22, 2022
Gov. Janet Mills’ proposal to crack down on underperforming power companies in Maine was met with fierce opposition Tuesday from both supporters of electric utilities and parties that want to replace those utilities with a consumer-owned model. The groups spoke during a legislative committee hearing to discuss a bill drafted by Mills’ administration that would give utility regulators more authority to impose fines and other penalties on power transmission and distribution companies that fail to meet certain service and reliability standards. Dozens of people who waited hours to testify against the bill Tuesday either characterized it as a cynical ploy to maintain the status quo or government overreach to address problems that don’t exist.