PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 8, 2023
By a margin of 70% to 30%, Maine voters on Tuesday rejected an attempt to buy the assets of Central Maine Power and Versant Power that together provide electricity to 97% of Maine. Rep. Gerry Runte, D-York, a member of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, has proposed performance-based ratemaking, which links electric utility revenue and profit to specific performance goals. Currently, revenues and profits are linked to traditional rate-setting based on a utility’s capital spending. The practice is getting attention in some states, but has run into opposition in Maine from the backers of Pine Tree Power. The lopsided result rejected the creation of an alternative utility, but is not seen as a vote of confidence in CMP and Versant. Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, implicitly acknowledged that CMP and Versant must change.