PORTLAND, Maine — Power bills for residents of Swan’s and Frenchboro islands will drop more than initially expected under a deal to sell the island’s small electric cooperative to the investor-owned Emera Maine.
Emera told regulators late Friday that its final purchase price for the Swan’s Island Electric Cooperative would be more than $100,000 less than expected.
That drop means island customers will pay a lower monthly surcharge of $15.42, down from an original estimate of $19.30. The island customers will pay that surcharge for five years to cover the cooperative’s old debt.
Regulators did not want Emera’s other customers to have to foot that bill, so they required island customers to pay the surcharge.
Still, the deal will mean savings for island residents, who now pay a fixed charge of about $47 for service from the cooperative. When the sale closes, island customers will swap out monthly fixed charges of about $47 for a monthly payment of a little more than $23.
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The fixed charge includes a monthly minimum of $7.70 for Emera customers and the surcharge.