By Michael Shepherd - May 27, 2022 Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up.
Good morning from Augusta. The Daily Brief will be off until Tuesday, May 31, to observe Memorial Day. Here's your soundtrack.
What we're watching today
Maine politicians were upset about a rate hike proposal from the state's major utility. Central Maine Power Co. announced on Thursday that it wants to fund a $570 million reliability improvement plan by hiking bills by $10 per month on average over three years starting in 2023 to reduce high power outage rates and allow the grid to handle higher demand.
Everybody wants both of those things, but the cost increases come on the heels of a $30 rate increase that took effect at the beginning of the year due to global energy prices and at time of high costs for, well, everything. The request was met by a swift negative reaction from across the political spectrum, from those who have often been friends of CMP in Augusta to their foes.
Gov. Janet Mills and her 2022 opponent, former Gov. Paul LePage, both of whom were among CMP's allies on the $1 billion corridor rejected by Maine voters in November, hammered the idea in different statements. The Democratic governor vowed to fight the "outrageous" increase if it goes to the Maine Public Utilities Commission. LePage called it "frankly unacceptable" in a statement he also used to hit energy policies enacted under Mills.
It goes further than those reactions from those candidates trying to further separate themselves on energy issues. Public Advocate Bill Harwood said his office would examine any underlying costs that were unacceptable and work on alternatives to the increase that would be easier on ratepayers.
When asked about the timing of the increase, Sen. Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, who has aligned with CMP on issues before the Legislature's energy committee from the corridor to opposing a consumer-owned utility that is now the subject of a 2023 referendum bid, responded in a text message to call it "pretty awful!!"
"Feel free to quote me!" he clarified.Â
Predictably, it also gave ammunition to those CMP foes. Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, the leader of the consumer-owned utility bid that would buy out the big utilities' infrastructure and place it under the control of an elected board, said his proposal would allow for grid upgrades at a lower cost.
The reliability plan is in part a response to stiff criticism of CMP, including outages that have gained massive attention over the last few years. Complaints around the utility's billing system and poor customer service began with a huge 2017 wind storm that knocked out power to nearly half a million Mainers. Catharine Hartnett, a spokesperson for CMP parent Avangrid, noted that while all Mainers want to pay less, they also want faster outage responses.
“We get that the timing is not good, but we have no crystal ball as to when the timing will be better,” she said, nodding to further uncertainty in the energy market.
But it is the timing given those global factors, the lingering unpopularity of the utility that has been through political fights with more on the horizon and a heavy dose of electoral politics that are contributing to the fight over the rate increase. This case will be a fascinating one to watch.
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What we're reading
— Kids under age 5 could pose a challenge for Maine's COVID-19 vaccine effort when they likely become eligible as soon as next month, given the slow progress in recent months of getting older kids vaccinated nationally.
— Sen. Susan Collins joined fellow Republicans to block a domestic terrorism bill that top Democrats tied to a gun policy debate. But the Maine senator is part of a small group of senators discussing a potential compromise measure.
— Collins also held up a presidential nominee to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a protest of regulations on the lobster industry aimed at protecting the endangered right whale, Maine Public reports.
— About 100 Mainers 5 and older will be part of Pfizer's clinical trial for a new Lyme disease vaccine, given the state's high rates of the condition. It has been 20 years since a shot for humans has been available.
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News and notes
— Mills is headed west from Augusta on Friday, attending a Auburn memorial dedication at 10 a.m. before an afternoon tour of GO Lab, Inc. in Madison and the grand opening of a pizza dough company's expansion site in Canaan.
— Collins criticized the Food and Drug Administration over the recent baby formula shortage during a hearing on Thursday, asking a top official why there was not better communication about supply-chain issues. Commissioner Robert Califf responded by saying there had been indications of some trouble about a month ago, but they were manageable for most companies until the supply took an abrupt turn for the worse.
— Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, went from a likely yes to a firm yes on Steve Dettelbach, President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. In a Thursday statement, he called the pick "the right man for the job." King's opposition doomed Biden's last nominee. Dettelbach is likely to win narrow confirmation.
Onlookers observe a water main break on Thursday in Portland. The break happened at the corner of Forest and Congress Streets in front of the Maine Medical Center construction site. (BDN photo by Troy R. Bennett)
📷  Lead photo: Central Maine Power utility lines are pictured in Pownal on Oct. 6, 2021. (AP photo by Robert F. Bukaty)
