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Jantzen Craine is a town councilor in Houlton and a candidate for Maine state representative in District 7. He also serves in the Maine Air National Guard as a financial analyst.
Most people associate energy policy with their monthly electric bill, and it certainly influences that. However, its impact extends far beyond that.
Energy policy plays a direct role in attracting businesses, creating jobs and determining whether a region thrives or declines. It’s not just about providing power; it’s about ensuring an economy can function and grow.
This reality became evident during a recent meeting with the Southern Aroostook Development Corp. We discussed a major data center that had seriously considered locating in Aroostook County. On paper, it was a promising opportunity. The region had the land, the location and the potential for job creation and long-term investment.
However, the company ultimately chose to go elsewhere. The reason was simple: power. It required large-scale, reliable, and consistent electricity, which the company did not find in Maine.
This decision had far-reaching consequences, including lost jobs, lost tax revenue and lost momentum for a region that could have benefited from all three. It also raises a broader question: How many similar opportunities have been overlooked without public attention?
This is where energy policy transitions from theory to practice. In recent years, Maine has made strides in promoting certain types of generation, particularly wind and solar. While these sources can contribute to the energy mix, they come with limitations. Wind is not always consistent, and the sun’s availability is unpredictable.
Therefore, energy policy must strike a balance between new generation and reliability. This balance becomes crucial for industries that cannot operate without uninterrupted power. Data centers, manufacturing facilities and similar operations require constant power supply.
When reliability is uncertain, the system compensates by using backup generation, imported electricity and expanded transmission infrastructure. Instead of relying on a single system, multiple layers are interconnected, leading to increased costs.
While wind and solar energy can be cost-effective when generating electricity, their pricing is not based on availability but rather on reliability. The grid must maintain dependable sources that can operate consistently, primarily relying on natural gas. Simultaneously, it must expand capacity and transmission to accommodate intermittent energy sources. This results in a more intricate and expensive system.
Maine is also part of the ISO New England grid. When local generation falls short, power is imported, often at a higher cost during peak demand periods. New England also faces ongoing constraints in natural gas supply, particularly during winter. Consequently, when demand increases, prices rise. Since natural gas remains a crucial component in balancing the grid, these costs are directly passed on to consumers.
Adding to this, the expenses associated with new transmission, long-term contracts and system redundancy contribute to the higher electric bills that many Maine families already experience.
Energy policy is essentially economic policy. When electricity becomes more expensive, the cost of doing business increases accordingly. This becomes a decisive factor for companies evaluating investment opportunities. The data center that relocated from Aroostook County did not make a political statement; it made a business decision based on reliability, cost predictability, and confidence in the system.
These are fundamental requirements, not unreasonable demands.
If the objective is to achieve affordable electricity, the path is straightforward. We need to build a system that delivers power on demand without relying on multiple overlapping layers. Complexity inherently drives costs.
Currently, I see Maine’s system moving in the opposite direction, becoming more layered, more expensive and less predictable. Many businesses and families are keenly aware of these changes. The issue is not whether energy policy matters; it is whether it aligns with reality. Most people are not actively engaged in policy debates. They are focused on paying their bills, running their businesses, and building a future. When something as fundamental as electricity starts hindering these goals, it is time to critically examine the direction we are heading.