HALLOWELL, Maine — Every Mainer who gets their electricity from one of the state’s two major distributors should see a significant increase in their monthly bills in 2023.
After a 10-minute Tuesday virtual meeting, where Versant customers in the Bangor Hydro district learned they would face an average 21% spike in their monthly bill, the Maine Public Utilities Commission approved more proposals Wednesday.
As the only item during Wednesday's seven-minute meeting, Chair Phil Bartlett announced Versant's Maine public district's bills are going up an estimated 18%. The average Central Maine Power customer will face an estimated 26% — all beginning Jan. 1.
The contracts are for what's called the "standard offer" rate and were signed with still-undisclosed power generators, which will provide electricity to Versant and CMP power lines. By state law, distributors cannot also generate power. Since these rate adjustments pertain only to the generators, CMP and Versant did not participate in negotiations. Nor will they profit from the rate increases.
Bartlett assured Mainers the commission chose the most competitive offers on the table but conceded it would still impact tens of thousands of people, already reeling from inflation and many waking up to the season's first flakes of snow on Wednesday morning.
"I do recognize that these prices are significantly higher than last year’s standard offer rate," Bartlett said.
The commission squarely blamed fossil fuel market volatility for the spike, specifically natural gas. Half of Maine’s energy is produced by natural gas. It won’t help Mainers in 2023, but Commissioner Patrick Scully said recent investments in renewable energy will stabilize the future.
"As we continue to transition our energy supply to renewable resources, that as they become a larger part of the mix, they’ll help to stabilize electricity prices in Maine and in the region," Scully said.
Linda Ball, CMP’s vice president of customer service, hoped Mainers would take advantage of in-house assistance programs offered by Versant and CMP — whose customers already pay into the programs through their bill.
Around 15,000 CMP customers were helped last year, Ball said. She estimated the company would distribute $11 million in assistance between October 2022 and September 2023.