By Mal Leary MPBN news story AUGUSTA, Maine – Members of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee heard more than four hours of testimony on two bills aimed at fixing a one word mistake in the Omnibus Energy bill. The mistake in the bill passed last year had the effect of reducing the amount Read More
energy efficiency funding
Legislators Meet to Fix Efficiency Maine Funding
WCSH-6 TV news story AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — The Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee heard testimony Wednesday on two competing bills that would restore funding to Efficiency Maine. The word “and” was left out of the 2013 law in a drafting error. That error allowed regulators to slash $38 million dollars for energy efficiency Read More
NRCM Testimony In Support of LD 1215, An Act to Provide Lower Energy Costs to Maine Businesses and Residences by Carrying Out the Legislature’s Intent Regarding Funding of the Efficiency Maine Trust
Senator David Woodsome, Chair Representative Mark Dion, Chair Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities & Technology My name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Thank you for allowing us to present this testimony. This bill restores a single word (“and”) which was omitted in Read More
NRCM Testimony in Opposition to LD 1221, An Act to Enhance Energy Cost Reduction and Facilitate Heating Alternatives in Furtherance of the Omnibus Energy Act
Senator David Woodsome, Chair Representative Mark Dion, Chair Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities & Technology My name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Thank you for allowing us to present this testimony. The Omnibus energy bill was a carefully negotiated set of energy Read More
Withholding Bonds an Attack on Maine’s Democracy
By Ann-Marie Mastraccio, William Noon and Patricia Hymanson Seacoast Online news story In 2010 and 2012, Mainers voted to approve over $14 million in bonds to fund projects by the Land for Maine’s Future program. These projects involve nearly 50,000 acres of conservation land used for recreation, agriculture, water access and wildlife preservation across the Read More
Car Dealers Have Integrity Where Lawmakers Don’t
By Adam Lee, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Last year, my employees shook more than 10,000 hands with the words, “thank you, we have a deal.” Typically this is followed by a lot of paperwork, but the handshake seals the deal. If on the original copy of the paperwork there is one Read More
Fix Efficiency Maine Funding with Predictability, Not Bureaucracy
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial Want to measure the popularity of a program? Threaten to diminish it and watch interest spike. That’s what happened with Efficiency Maine in recent weeks. In mid-March, the Public Utilities Commission read the law that sets up a new funding system for the quasi-state agency to Read More
LePage Threatens Veto of Quick Fix to Efficiency Maine Funding Problem
He says the Legislature must approve his energy agenda before he will fix a clerical error that cut $38 million from energy-efficiency programs. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA – In case there was any uncertainty, Gov. Paul LePage made it clear Friday that he will veto a bill to Read More
LePage Indicates He Will Not Support Democrats’ ‘Simple’ Energy Bill Fix
By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage said Friday that he doesn’t support a Democratic proposal that would fix what has been called a $38 million typo in a previously enacted energy bill that among other things provides almost twice that amount in funding for Efficiency Read More
