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Since 2018 residential supply rates have more than doubled (up 125 percent) from 7.85 to 17.63 cents per kilowatt hour. During the same period many solar panels and wind turbines have been installed, supposedly to save Maine ratepayers costs and improve the environment. Neither has occurred. I think this debacle is a fraud and was false from the get-go. We can thank the Legislature for breaking up our two utilities at the behest of former Gov. Angus King, and former Gov. John Baldacci for the expedited wind law. Now Gov. Janet Mills apparently wants to continue the damage with offshore wind.
I have a suggestion for Maine taxpayers. Instead of approving a potentially $13.5 billion bond issue creating what I think will be a self-serving public boondoggle, Pine Tree Power. Let’s instead put Humpty Dumpty back together and buy every power producing and holding dam sold to Brookfield and NextEra and others since 1999. We could then have some Wall Street investment geniuses repackage the entity created after negotiating long-term power purchase agreements just for Maine. Wall Street could then re-sell the entity and pay Maine back the $13.5 billion plus a reasonable profit.
Also, when Central Maine Power and the New England Clean Energy Connect win their court case overturning the referendum as I expect, let’s string a few more power lines in the right of way strictly for Maine and require Massachusetts to pay for that as well. This would eliminate the need to wreck Aroostook County with power lines, windmills and solar panels all over the North Maine Woods.
These so-called alternative energy policies were sold to us as valid energy saving and environmental saviors, but they have failed miserably and I believe Maine taxpayers have received nothing beneficial.
Dudley Gray
Rangeley Plantation