In just a couple months, Mainers will vote on a potentially historic piece of climate legislation: creating the consumer-owned Pine Tree Power Company to replace CMP. With local ownership, the electric utility will answer to its customers, not foreign shareholders. Plenty of towns and counties across the nation (and in Maine) have done this before, but Pine Tree Power is the first state-sized consumer-owned utility.
Sometimes, achieving something that’s never been done before can be daunting.
In those times, it’s helpful to look back, because we truly are leaders in climate action here in the state of Maine. Take just one example:
In June 2021, Reuters ran the headline, “New Maine law marks US first on fossil fuel divestment.” Building on a long campaign of grassroots activism, legislators and activists came together to craft a balanced, bipartisan bill. It wisely directed that Maine pull retirement investments out of the increasingly risky fossil fuel sector. This was part of a larger national and international trend of divestment, with universities, churches, companies, towns, and individuals all taking money out of fossil fuels and putting it into renewables. But Maine was the first to take action on a state level.
We can do the same with Pine Tree Power. Like divestment, it just makes sense by the numbers: customers of consumer-owned utilities in Maine pay a third less than what we pay to CMP and Versant monthly.
And like divestment, it’s an important step in the transition to a fossil-free economy.
-WEN file photo courtesy of Max Power
Time and again, CMP has blocked legislation to expand renewables, and they’re refusing to ready the grid for energy technologies of tomorrow. A Mainer-owned utility, by contrast, is beholden only to Mainers, not foreign stakeholders. We can get our priorities straight, incentivizing renewables and modernizing the grid. Six towns in the US are 100% green energy at this point – and all of them have consumer-owned utilities.
And as with divestment, Maine can be a national leader when it comes to how we get our electricity. It’s a big step, and it’s going to take a lot of work to counter the millions of dollars CMP and Versant are spending. But looking to past climate wins – I know we can do it.
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Bright Idea: Maine-owned power
Bright Idea: Maine-owned power
By Caitlin Marshall
In just a couple months, Mainers will vote on a potentially historic piece of climate legislation: creating the consumer-owned Pine Tree Power Company to replace CMP. With local ownership, the electric utility will answer to its customers, not foreign shareholders. Plenty of towns and counties across the nation (and in Maine) have done this before, but Pine Tree Power is the first state-sized consumer-owned utility.
Sometimes, achieving something that’s never been done before can be daunting.
In those times, it’s helpful to look back, because we truly are leaders in climate action here in the state of Maine. Take just one example:
In June 2021, Reuters ran the headline, “New Maine law marks US first on fossil fuel divestment.” Building on a long campaign of grassroots activism, legislators and activists came together to craft a balanced, bipartisan bill. It wisely directed that Maine pull retirement investments out of the increasingly risky fossil fuel sector. This was part of a larger national and international trend of divestment, with universities, churches, companies, towns, and individuals all taking money out of fossil fuels and putting it into renewables. But Maine was the first to take action on a state level.
We can do the same with Pine Tree Power. Like divestment, it just makes sense by the numbers: customers of consumer-owned utilities in Maine pay a third less than what we pay to CMP and Versant monthly.
And like divestment, it’s an important step in the transition to a fossil-free economy.
Time and again, CMP has blocked legislation to expand renewables, and they’re refusing to ready the grid for energy technologies of tomorrow. A Mainer-owned utility, by contrast, is beholden only to Mainers, not foreign stakeholders. We can get our priorities straight, incentivizing renewables and modernizing the grid. Six towns in the US are 100% green energy at this point – and all of them have consumer-owned utilities.
And as with divestment, Maine can be a national leader when it comes to how we get our electricity. It’s a big step, and it’s going to take a lot of work to counter the millions of dollars CMP and Versant are spending. But looking to past climate wins – I know we can do it.
The views expressed in our pages belong solely to their authors and not necessarily WEN or its advertisers. Share your opinion. Send letters to thewestendnews@gmail.com.