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Effort to thwart consumer-owned utility squeaks through signature approval process

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Effort to thwart consumer-owned utility squeaks through signature approval process

Jan 27, 2023 | 2:22 pm ET
By Lauren McCauley
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Effort to thwart consumer-owned utility squeaks through signature approval process

The Maine Secretary of State’s office announced Thursday that a campaign funded by Central Maine Power that would require voter approval for a certain amount of government borrowing collected enough signatures to appear on the November 2023 ballot — but just barely. 

Of the 93,837 signatures submitted by No Blank Checks — a ballot campaign run by Maine Affordable Energy, a group funded by CMP parent Avangrid — the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions found 68,807 valid. A minimum of 67,682 signatures from registered Maine voters are required for the initiative to appear on the ballot.

No Blank Checks hired Washington D.C.-based firm Second Street Associates for the signature collection effort. The campaign, in tandem with Maine Affordable Energy, paid the firm over $2.5 million for the effort.

The campaign aims to thwart another ballot initiative to replace Maine’s unpopular investor-owned utilities with a nonprofit power company by asking for voter approval for borrowing $1 billion or more by state entities or electric cooperatives. 

Now, Maine voters will have to choose between dueling ballot measures. 

Last October, a coalition called Our Power submitted petitions for its 2023 referendum asking Mainers if they want to replace CMP and Versant with the Pine Tree Power Company, a nonprofit, consumer-owned utility that would provide power to most municipalities in Maine, except the 97 Maine towns already served by pre-existing consumer-owned utilities. (Beacon is a project of Maine People’s Alliance, which has contributed to the Our Power campaign). 

In response to the Secretary of State’s announcement, Our Power highlighted the low validation rate of No Blank Checks’ signatures.

“If they waste so much money on such a lousy outcome, no wonder they do such a lousy job running our utility,” said Yarmouth resident Bill Dunn, a lead petitioner with Our Power and a utility consultant with 50 years of experience in the industry.

“The bottom line is that CMP bought signatures from Maine voters at $25 a pop,” said Andrew Blunt, executive director of Our Power. 

“What if instead of buying elections and constantly raising our rates, CMP finally cut rates for hardworking Maine people?” Blunt continued.