Citizens of Lewiston, Maine, go to one of the voting centers this Tuesday.Robert F. Bukaty (AP)
The United States is a country that loves capitalism, competition and the free market. The citizens of the state of Maine, in the northeast of the country, demonstrated this Tuesday by rejecting in a referendum the proposal to create a public electricity company, effectively nationalizing the assets of the two private companies that distribute 97% of the electricity. Electricity in the said state, one of them from the Spanish company Iberdrola.
The proposal was to break up Central Maine Power, owned by the American Avangrid, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, and Versant Power, owned by the Canadian group Enmax, and in their place create a non-profit company called Pine Tree Power to manage the network. A similar proposal was rejected by voters in 1973.
Voters rejected the proposal by an overwhelming 70% to 30%, and consideration is almost complete. The companies rejected the proposal, as did the state’s governor, Democrat Janet Mills. The operation would have meant the new public company would assume nearly $14 billion in debt.
The vote came amid intense criticism of Central Maine Power, including for its slow response to storm-related power outages, failure to implement the billing system and perceived obstacles to connecting renewable energy projects to the grid. None of this was enough to convince voters. Willy Ritch, executive director of the Maine Affordable Energy Coalition, which opposed the deal, said Maine voters “rejected billions of dollars in debt and rejected the risk and uncertainty that comes with it,” according to the AP.
Avangrid welcomed the outcome of the consultation. “Fifty years ago, in 1973, Maine voters soundly rejected (61% NO – 39% YES) a proposal to seize Maine’s electric grid and replace it with a political body. “Maine voters have once again rejected this risky proposal,” the company said in a statement. “Maine voters have spoken. “The years-long debate over who is best suited to run the network is doing nothing to advance the solutions needed now, and it is time to get back to work,” he adds.
“Next year, Central Maine Power will celebrate its 125th anniversary and its commitment to providing safe and reliable service remains unchanged. From responding to storms during Winter Storm Elliot to exceeding customer service metrics three years in a row to being named one of Maine’s Best Places to Work, CMP and Avangrid remain fully committed to their customers and employees,” the company concludes.
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