September 22, 2023
Sierra Club has officially endorsed Question 3 on this November’s ballot, which would replace the state’s two profit-driven, investor-owned utilities with Pine Tree Power, a non-profit utility owned by consumers, not billionaire shareholders. If Question 3 passes, Maine voters will elect a board of Mainers to run the utility company and foster a clean energy future. You can read more about the campaign here.
Pine Tree Power will help us meet our climate and clean energy goals swiftly and justly. Here are some of the climate implications of the ballot initiative:
PINE TREE POWER WILL MEET MAINE’S CLEAN ENERGY GOALS SWIFTLY AND JUSTLY
- Rather than making decisions that only serve to return profits to investors, Pine Tree Power has climate, equity, and labor mandates written into law.
- While Maine has a relatively clean electricity supply, it also has the highest use of heating oil (19% of statewide emissions) in the nation and transportation is the largest source of emissions in the state (54% of emissions). To meet climate goals, Maine will need to electrify these sectors and dramatically build out the size of the electric grid. As a nonprofit utility, the Pine Tree Power Company will finance necessary grid expansion with low-interest revenue bonds and will no longer be required to provide the above-market return on equity that investor-owned utilities demand. This will ensure a faster and more equitable transition, saving billions of dollars for generations of Mainers.
- Pine Tree Power will honor net metering agreements and boost solar expansion. The language (page 5) of the ballot referendum says the Pine Tree Power Company will honor all existing net metering agreements. CMP and Versant have lobbied against increasing renewable energy programs and making the system more complex. Pine Tree Power will increase solar interconnection!
- Deprioritizing the transition to renewables harms ratepayers in at least two major ways: they miss out on opportunities created under a well-planned and supported energy transformation, and they are forced to rely on an outdated grid that hinders renewable energy development and is unprepared for extreme weather events that climate change is already bringing. Pine Tree Power lists helping Maine rapidly meet its statutory climate targets as part of its company purpose.
YES ON 3 WILL RID AUGUSTA OF ITS BIGGEST ANTI-CLIMATE LOBBYISTS
- In the last legislative session alone, Central Maine Power and Versant spent over $771,000 in political lobbying (source, Maine ethics) in order to protect and perpetuate some of the worst solar policies in the nation — especially utilities’ notorious habit of delaying and overcharging projects for interconnection.
- CMP and Versant are delaying climate action with lobbying and costly fees to renewable developers. Instead of partnering with us on our climate goals, they have been spreading the message that if we give them more time, they'll fall in line. As a giant corporation that does not have our interests at heart, they are copying the same "delay action" playbook that Exxon and other fossil fuel companies use.
YES ON 3 WILL REMOVE BARRIERS TO RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSTRUCTION
- CMP has stood in the way of clean energy, delaying studies and charging developers exorbitant rates until an investigation was announced and a cheaper workaround was miraculously found. It was also so clear that they delayed solar connections that they had to admit they should have done things differently and pay a $700,000 fine.
- For years, CMP and Versant have challenged efforts to construct renewable energy projects, boost energy efficiency, and take meaningful climate action in Maine.
Instead of working alongside advocacy and community groups to meet our climate goals, they have tried to convince the public that if we give them more time, they'll fall in line. - As a nonprofit, Pine Tree Power qualifies for low-cost financing roughly half that of CMP and Versant. This means any time we invest in the grid with Pine Tree Power, we’re getting huge savings! Pine Tree Power qualifies for lower cost financing (3% interest bonds vs. IOU’s 8-10% return on equity). As we build out the grid, it will all be cheaper under Pine Tree Power, enabling us to do more, faster, with more public support.
CONSUMER OWNERSHIP IS A PROVEN MODEL FOR ENERGY DEMOCRACY & CLIMATE JUSTICE
- As of 2018, there were just six U.S. communities whose electricity was 100% renewable (Greensburg, Kansas; Georgetown, Texas; Kodiak Island, Alaska; Rock Port, Missouri; Aspen, Colorado; and Burlington, Vermont). What do they have in common? All six have consumer-owned utilities.
- If you include community choice aggregators, there are over 100 fully clean utilities directed by communities… there is not a single investor-owned utility that has reached 100% renewable.