Acadia Center | Conservation Law Foundation | Natural Resources Council of Maine
(Augusta, ME) — The five-year spending proposal by Central Maine Power (CMP) collects an additional $1.7 billion from Maine electricity customers for the stated purpose of investments to the electric grid, but according to new analysis, nearly $700 million would be delivered directly to shareholders as profit.
Three clean energy organizations that have formally intervened in the rate case – Acadia Center, Conservation Law Foundation, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine – called CMP’s proposal to deliver massive profits to their shareholders unacceptable as Mainers face high prices for everything from groceries to health care. The groups urged regulators at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reject CMP’s proposal and order the company to come back with a fairer plan.
“Maine’s grid needs investment, but CMP’s rate hike is too much, too fast, without accountability, and giving too much profit to shareholders at a time when Maine ratepayers can least afford it,” said NRCM’s Climate & Clean Energy Senior Advocate Rebecca Schultz. “If we are to meet the challenges of the future, we will need a more collaborative, thoughtful stance from our utility partners to build the modern, flexible clean energy grid that can better serve Maine people.”
“Given the energy affordability crisis already afflicting so many Mainers, it is both deeply disappointing and concerning that CMP has decided to propose such an enormous rate hike,” said Acadia Center’s Utility Innovation Program Manager Noah Berman. “The grid may need work, but CMP is overreaching – asking for much too much money, heaping risk onto their customers, and circumventing the integrated grid planning process, all while avoiding the appropriate inclusion of newer, more efficient and lower-cost ways to improve the grid.”
“CMP’s rate hike fails to meet the moment. With customers already facing soaring electricity bills, the proposed rate increase will create even more financial stress and overlooks sensible measures that will cut customer costs and improve utility performance,” said Conservation Law Foundation’s Director of Clean Grid Phelps Turner. “CMP must go back to the drawing board, and its next proposal must account for the unaffordability of electricity and include new performance metrics that will enhance the reliability of the grid and new categories of rates that will save customers money.”
Earlier this fall, CMP asked state regulators to approve an historically unprecedented five-year spending plan paid for by higher electricity rates. CMP is proposing for distribution rates to more than double, increasing the average residential customer bills by $35 per month or $420 per year by 2031.
Acadia Center, CLF, and NRCM analyzed CMP’s proposal and found the company’s proposed increase in spending and rate of return would garner it $692 million in profit over the course of the five-year rate plan.
In its five-year proposal, CMP wants pre-approval to spend more than $3 billion subject to its own internal prioritization, with no commitments to particular projects and with minimal external oversight.
CMP’s proposal lays out its plan to:
- Massively expand grid infrastructure based on outdated forecasts of growth in electricity demand;
- Automatically recover storm damage costs before they can be reviewed;
- More than double the value of all fixed assets owned by the company; and
- Shift risk for routine business operations, like taxes and payroll, from company shareholders to Maine ratepayers.
CMP itself predicts that all its spending will have negligible impacts on service quality improvement.
Acadia Center, Conservation Law Foundation, and NRCM are working together to advance a more equitable and affordable clean energy future. The groups are actively involved in PUC proceedings to encourage smart investments in a more modern, flexible electric grid combined with responsible development of homegrown renewable energy sources. Together, a flexible grid, local energy production, and other clean energy resources are the best way to reduce reliance on expensive imported fossil fuels and better serve Maine people with reliable, affordable electricity.
