PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2022
Three proposals to replace Central Maine Power and Versant exist. Two are the work of Democrats, one is the work of Republicans. None will solve the biggest cause of electrical woes in Maine. Though the state divided that utility into two distinct parts in 1998 (distribution and generation), it did not separate the bill so consumers too busy to read it carefully would know who was responsible for the increases they were seeing. That misunderstanding created the call to replace CMP and Versant that legislators are responding to. This and other misunderstandings have derailed the cooperative efforts of New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers committed to climate response. ~ Jamie Beaulieu, Farmington