Senator Lawrence, Representative Berry, and distinguished members of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. My name is David Costello. I am the Climate and Clean Energy Program Director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), and I am testifying today in support of LD 1350, An Act to Expand Maine’s Clean Energy Economy. Clean Energy Transition Vital Strengthening Read More
Public Utilities Commission
Opposition to LD 249 and LD 583, Bills Related to Net Energy Billing Policy
Opposition to LD 249, An Act to Eliminate the Current Net Energy Billing Policy in Maine and LD 583, An Act to Repeal the Changes Made by Public Law 2019, Chapter 478, An Act to Promote Solar Energy Projects and Distributed Generation Resources in Maine Senator Lawrence, Representative Berry, and distinguished members of the Energy, Utilities, and Technology Committee. My Read More
US Army Corps & Dept. of Energy Identify Major Issues with CMP Corridor
Agencies call out lack of evidence on climate claims even as they coach CMP how to write its own Environmental Assessment August 13, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – A new document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have Read More
A Victory for Energy Consumers and Climate Action
NRCM statement The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) today completely rejected a proposal that would have benefited Central Maine Power (CMP) by doubling the fixed monthly charges for residential and small business customers over the next four years. The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) has been a party to this lengthy case because increased Read More
News & Noteworthy — July 2019
News & Noteworthy July 31, 2019 One Salmon’s Journey Bangor Daily News outdoors editor John Holyoke gives us the tale of one Atlantic salmon’s amazing journeys in Maine’s waters and an $880K payout from an oil company spill will fund improvements to help fish migrate up the Penobscot River and its tributaries. Congratulations to Baxter Read More
NRCM Testimony in Support of the Nomination of Phillip Bartlett, III for Public Utilities Commission
Senator Lawrence, Representative Berry and other members of the Energy, Utilities and Technology (EUT) Committee, my name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). We testify in strong support of the nomination of Mr. Bartlett for the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and believe Read More
NRCM Statement on Nomination of Phil Bartlett as PUC Chair
May 28, 2019 (Augusta, ME) – The Natural Resources Council of Maine released the following statement from Clean Energy Director Dylan Voorhees on Governor Mills’ nomination of Phil Bartlett as Chair of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC): “Phil Bartlett will provide the leadership on clean energy and energy efficiency that the PUC so desperately needs. Read More
Maine PUC Intentionally Holding Energy Efficiency Back, Costing Consumers Millions in Savings
NRCM news release May 3, 2019 (Hallowell, ME) – The staff at the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has recommended dramatic cuts to Efficiency Maine’s proposed three-year plan aimed at helping Maine households, businesses, towns, and industry save money through investments in energy efficiency. The staff recommendation released yesterday follows a disturbing pattern by the Read More
News & Noteworthy – April 2019
News and Noteworthy April 24, 2019 Curbing the Plague of Plastic Urged on by their Public Works Director who called plastic bags “the biggest source of recycling contamination in our community,” the town of Biddeford became the latest Maine town to ban single-use plastic bags. That vote was a preview to a public hearing held Read More