AUGUSTA, Maine — The independent audit report on Central Maine Power billing problems has not quieted the critics. That includes the company’s leading critic in the state legislature, who is claiming CMP’s parent company in Spain might be the biggest problem.
CMP is owned by Ibadrolla, a major international energy company based in Spain.
Democratic Rep. Seth Berry, co-chair of the Energy and Utilities Committee, says the report by Liberty Consulting for the Maine Public Utilities Commission shows CMP was "cutting corners" by having inadequate staff and inadequate training when it began using a new billing system last year.
The report says those shortcomings are one of the major causes of continued billing problems that ignited thousand of customer complaints last winter.
Rep. Berry says he blames Ibadrolla for not providing the needed resources. He said Friday the PUC and Legislature should take a close look at whether the corporate ownership is good for Maine.
"I think we need to look at that. Not whether the grid will still exist but whether Ibadrolla, based in Spain, which owns Avangrid, based in Connecticut, is the right entity to own our grid in Maine," Berry said.
Avangrid is the U.S. corporate division that directly oversees CMP.
CMP spokeswoman Catherine Hartnett said the company has learned from the mistake described in the consultant's report and has made changes, and said customers benefit from the corporate ownership.
"The advantage of being part of a large corporation is we can bring expertise knowledge and experience into Maine," she told NEWS CENTER Maine. "We are a Maine company and we are committed to Maine customers, but because of our affiliation with a larger corporation, we can bring attributes here to serve people in Maine."
Any discussion of forcing a split of the company would appear to be a long ways off. The next step in the current process will be a public hearing by the PUC on Jan. 8. However, Rep. Berry said he and others are preparing bills for the coming legislative session as a result of the CMP billing problems.
The secretary company is also in the middle of a rate increase review with the PUC, where Maine Public Advocate Barry Hobbins says he will be asking for a very close study of CMP costs, rates and service.