Congratulation to Charlie Woodworth and his team at Greater Franklin Development Council for successfully obtaining a $1 million grant for broadband implementation in Carthage, Weld, Perkins Township, Temple, Washington Township, and Wilton. The need for high-speed internet has only become more dire during the pandemic, and any new connectivity in this area helps bring Franklin County into the modern economy.
I have to ask, however, whether the public-private partnership model advocated by the ConnectMaine Authority and various other organizations around the state really is the best way to deploy this essential service. Remember that this grant was the result of a competitive grant process that relies on matching funds from an oh-so-functional federal government and a Maine state government that is, as of this writing, facing a $1.4 billion budget shortfall over the next three years. I’ll only lightly touch on the fact that the Maine House and Senate Republicans, Rep. Skolfield included, have not voted to bring the Legislature back into session and allocate CARES Act funding, some of which can go to broadband.
There is an alternative approach. If we don’t see another session of the 129th Legislature, we can do this in the 130th. LD 1646 starts the process of creating a consumer-owned utility that will replace CMP. This new utility, Maine Power Delivery Authority (MPDA), will be a non-governmental, not-for-profit entity with most board members elected by and accountable to Maine ratepayers. This transition will be funded by borrowing against future revenues (aka “revenue bonding”), which will not require taxes or bonds that the state will be responsible for. With a consumer-owned utility, ratepayers will have much the same influence that investors currently have with CMP over important infrastructure investments such as three-phase power, insulated cables, and potentially broadband. Many public utilities, such as BrightRidge in Johnson City, Tennessee, offer broadband as well as electricity to protect against a downturn in energy prices. If MPDA offered broadband, it would additionally reduce the risk of the revenue bonding approach, since it can draw on an income source other than power delivery. By transitioning to a consumer-owned utility, we can address the challenges of an outdated grid and outdated internet while giving Maine ratepayers a say in the development of the infrastructure they rely on every day. But we can only make this happen if you get out on November 3rd for candidates like me who support this necessary legislation.
Peter Bourgelais
Candidate, House District 112
Phillips
One correction I wasn’t able to get in on time: LD 1646, as I hinted above, now only convenes a task force to work out the details of a transition to a consumer-owned utility. It is not clear from the amendments I’ve seen that it provides for direct election of MPDA’s board members. If elected, I will do everything possible to make sure that happens in future legislation.
Peter, I’m curious how this endeavor will play out. How are you going to take possession of a 100 plus year old company and make it a “consumer-owned utility? Are you going to force CMP and any other privately operated utility company’s to sell their operations? Who is then going to run this consumer-owned utility? Do you have readily available Qualified individuals in mind?
If you look back at the history of Maine’s legislative process and it’s constant attempts at making things “fair” you guys and gals have done nothing but driven us to the point we are at now. That being C.M.P. being owned by first out of state utilities and then to the current Spanish owners.
Look at when the state legislation forced the utilities to purchase power from the NUGs’. While it did allow them to build biomass plants which made those owners money, it forced C.M.P. to buy power well above what the utilities (that owned their own plants at that time) were charging consumers for power, which lead to increased bills for consumers.
Then the debacle of forcing Maine’s private utilities to sell those generating plants, then wouldn’t let those same utilities to utilize those funds as they saw fit but just may them ripe for take over. And once again increase in our electric utility bills.
With just this small sampling of the state legislators mishandling those issues, how in the world do you think you guys can do this right and not effectively make a few other individuals rich off our backs? You guys don’t inspire much confidence in being able to handle anything larger than maybe keeping us well stock in TP for the next big crisis.
Thanks for the explanation on your stance on this. Another reason I will not be voting for you.
Great point Peter! Glad you support taking back our power monopoly from foreign governments and banks.
Local ownership of our poles and wires is a national security issue for me. Iberdrola (CMP) is owned by Qatar’s government, Norway’s government, and banks from Spain. ENMAX is also owned by a foreign government.
The grid is not a free market. We are captive customers.
This has been done in other places like Winter Park FL and Long Island and has worked out well. Rates went down.
Skolfield did not get back to me about this so I will be voting for you!
Not My View Shed, ok, a couple points:
1. As I said in the letter, MPDA would acquire CMP and Emera’s assets by borrowing against future revenues.
2. The original text of LD 1646 describes a process by which MPDA will contract for the operation of the utility, and that contractor will report to the Board of Directors (which, again, will be directly elected by ratepayers in any version of the bill I would support).
3. If you’re talking about Maine’s version of the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978, yes the avoided cost calculations estimated a much higher cost of energy in the aftermath of the 70s oil embargoes. I for one wasn’t in the Legislature in the early 80s when this legislation was crafted, and neither were just about all of its current and future members. For those of you just learning about this, there’s an important discussion of the secondary economic consequences of PURPA’s avoided cost pricing for Maine’s mills (and therefore property tax rates) on pages 7 and 8 of Dr. Richard Silkman’s study “A New Energy Policy for Maine”, which you can read here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a7cb101f9a61e108b1fc9b2/t/5e32e12836caa1146862204a/1580392772635/A+New+Energy+Policy+Direction+for+Maine_Silkman_PDF.pdf
In summary, opening up the electricity generation market to NUGs like this led to a significant decrease in operating costs for Maine mills, which kept a lot of them open for longer than they would have otherwise, which kept those jobs and property tax revenues in the community.
In any case, let me ask you this, NMVS: why am I, and everyone else advocating for a consumer-owned utility in the wrong just because some economists were wrong about the price of oil 40 years ago?
Peter,
Thank You for this communication.
I’ll be open minded.
You “do” realize you’re turning your back on financial kickbacks from the Big Rich Foreign Boys…. right?
Refreshing!!
Good For You.
Everything Is Beautiful.
Honestly brilliant idea. Broadband is a necessity one can’t afford to put under control of an unaccountable private entity and by giving the consumers control it lowers risks on both sides.
Bravo!
Robbing Peter to pay Paul, a public owned power company may lower your bills ( might not also ), but a public utility doesn’t pay taxes, doesn’t pay registrations for vehicles, doesn’t pay property tax or fuel tax or many other things that private owned companies have to. Cmp pay taxes on everything from the poles to every gallon of fuel the trucks burn. What little savings you might see in your electric bills will have to be used to make up the loss in state, municipal and federal taxes that will go away with a public power company. Cmp doesn’t produce power they only transmit it. You will still be paying the same for the power. You may believe in unicorns and gumdrops and think that the power producing companies will take a good faith cut in profits to lower your bills but I live in reality and don’t believe any corporate big wig is going to take money out of their pockets or bonuses to make you feel good.
Private Planet: Yup, helps to have a career path outside of being a politician. When you do 3D graphics for a living, it’s a lot easier to resist the Big Rich Foreign Boys. If you’re curious, I work for this game studio: https://www.peaceislandgame.com
Peter and Paul: A consumer-owned utility will lower rates. Even the LEI analysis showed a long-term decrease in rates for ratepayers, and it neglected a $5 billion cash reserve in that estimate which we can use to lower rates in the short term as well.
As for taxes, right here in the original text of LD 1646 it says that MPDA “shall make payments in lieu of taxes with respect to its utility facilities or property to any municipality, county or other political subdivision to which an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility whose utility facilities the authority acquired pursuant to this chapter paid taxes and in the same amount as those taxes would have been if the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility continued to own the property or utility facilities.”
In other words, in any version of the bill I would support, MPDA would make payments in lieu of taxes in the same amount as CMP did.