PORTLAND — The Maine Public Utilities Commission has started looking into the impact of drought conditions that only continue to worsen on the state’s public drinking water systems. The Portland Press Herald reports that the agency has formally requested input from 153 water utilities to gauge the severity of the problem. The request follows a […]
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Maine PUC considers $500,000 fine for FairPoint
AUGUSTA — Maine regulators are considering a $500,000 fine for FairPoint for failing to meet service standards for landline customers during a period that included a four-month strike. North Carolina-based FairPoint, which provides telephone service in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, contends bad weather and a cyberattack, along with the strike, contributed to unforeseen events […]
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How electricity providers siphoned more than $20 million from customers
Melissa Peirce and her husband circled their rural Charleston home, hunting for evidence of an electricity thief. Their power bill had more than tripled, and they suspected a cheat was tapping into their power lines. But they found no suspicious wires, and no signs of a filcher. “We live in the middle of nowhere,” Peirce […]
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Summit Natural Gas wants to dissolve an affiliate
AUGUSTA — A Maine natural gas company that faced a $250,000 fine this year following a potentially “catastrophic” gas leak is asking the state to dissolve an affiliate. On Friday, Summit Natural Gas of Maine asked the state Public Utilities Commission to dissolve Natural Gas Conversion Company, which launched in 2014 to help Mainers convert […]
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Maine PUC votes to expand natural gas capacity
AUGUSTA — The Maine Public Utilities Commission has approved a plan to require utility ratepayers to help pay for expanded natural gas. The three-member panel rejected a staff recommendation in voting unanimously for the proposal on Tuesday. But Maine would participate only if four other New England states follow suit with similar plans. Vermont wasn’t […]
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Maine PUC OKs energy efficiency settlement plan
PORTLAND — Environmental groups say an energy efficiency settlement plan approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission doesn’t go far enough to save Mainers money. The state’s Efficiency Maine Trust had originally submitted a three-year plan with projected lifetime savings of $875 million. The approved plan saves about $250 million less. In a statement, the […]
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Maine PUC says state shouldn’t fund natural gas expansion
PORTLAND — The staff of the Maine Public Utilities Commission is recommending against spending up to $75 million a year to expand natural gas pipeline capacity in New England. The recommendation issued Wednesday is a potential setback for Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s efforts to boost pipeline capacity to bring more natural gas into the energy […]
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Maine supreme court to hear smart meter arguments again
PORTLAND — The Maine supreme court is hearing arguments over the safety of so-called smart meters installed by Central Maine Power. Opponents who contend smart meters cause symptoms including headache, fatigue and sleep loss are challenging a December conclusion by the Maine Public Utilities Commission that 600,000 smart meters installed in homes and businesses pose […]
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Bruce Williamson joins the Maine PUC
AUGUSTA — Economist Bruce Williamson is the newest member of the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Williamson was sworn into office by Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday. The Republican-controlled Senate approved his nomination earlier this month. Williamson is a senior economist at the Institute for Nuclear Security at the University of Tennessee’s Howard Baker Center […]
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Committee expected to vote on LePage’s nominee to PUC after delay
PORTLAND — The Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee is expected to take up the nomination of economist Bruce Williamson to the Maine Public Utilities Commision on Thursday, but a late-session flurry of activity could interfere with those plans. Republican Senate staff, Democratic House staff and the committee’s clerk said a vote is likely Thursday […]