Thanks to Tux Turkel for the comprehensive article “Electric utilities fight for survival” (June 18) about the upcoming referendum in support of Pine Tree Power. On the ballot in November will be the referendum question, “Do you want to create a new power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine?” A yes vote would establish Pine Tree Power, a consumer-owned utility with an elected board made up of residents from across the state and designated experts. The board would hire a private grid operator chosen through a competitive bidding process.
Since Maine has strong campaign finance laws, utility companies must disclose their political spending. Consequently Turkel found that Avangrid has outspent the Pine Tree Power campaign 17 to 1. (Avangrid is CMP’s parent company and is owned by Iberdrola, a Spanish company whose largest shareholders are in Qatar.) No doubt you have received one of their glossy ads with your mail. Most likely you have seen one of the TV ads trying to convince us that CMP cares about its customers even though CMP ranks poorly for customer service and is considered expensive and unreliable. Avangrid is also separately funding a referendum campaign called No Blank Checks, which would require voter approval for the state to borrow more than $1 billion. The campaign is aimed at discouraging voters from endorsing Pine Tree Power.
I find it interesting that in the same Sunday edition there were two full-page ads highlighting Avangrid as a forward-thinking company. In case readers missed those ads, one was repeated in Monday’s papers. Meanwhile customers’ utility bills have increased and will continue to increase. The financial connection between this campaign funding and the rate increases seems questionable to me.
Linda Woods
Waterville
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