Maine’s Sky-High Electricity Costs

By Arthur A. Flower

Maine residents are paying some of the highest electricity rates in the nation, and the reasons behind this crisis are as clear as they are infuriating. The state’s energy policy, driven by radical environmentalism and corporate greed, has left working families and businesses footing the bill for unreliable power and reckless financial decisions. Meanwhile, a recent catastrophic power outage in Spain—a global poster child for renewable energy—exposes the dangers of overreliance on wind and solar. The lessons for Maine couldn’t be more obvious, yet our leaders continue to ignore them.

Foreign Ownership, Soaring Bills

Maine’s electricity market is dominated by two foreign-owned utilities: Central Maine Power (CMP), controlled by Spain’s Iberdrola, and Versant Power, owned by Canada’s Enmax. The December 2023 completion of Iberdrola’s $2.5 billion acquisition of Avangrid—CMP’s parent company—marked a grim milestone: the total loss of local oversight and financial transparency.

As William Harwood, Maine’s Public Advocate, warned, “This move puts Maine ratepayers at significant risk.” The deal stripped away Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements, eliminating critical checks on executive compensation, insider trading, and risky corporate behavior. Without minority shareholders or public accountability, Iberdrola can now funnel profits overseas while Mainers endure skyrocketing bills and frequent outages.

CMP’s track record speaks for itself. The utility ranks among the worst in the nation for customer satisfaction, with rates climbing despite worsening service. A 2021 federal lawsuit accused Iberdrola and Avangrid of bid-rigging and racketeering, alleging they forced ratepayers to foot the bill for millions in wasteful equipment purchases. Yet Maine’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) rubber-stamped the privatization, ignoring warnings from critics like Seth Berry of Our Power, who noted, “We’ve lost the last remaining checks and balances.”

The Green Energy Mirage

While Maine’s grid falters under foreign control, Spain’s recent power collapse offers a stark warning about the pitfalls of renewable energy dogma. On April 16, Spain celebrated a fleeting milestone—its grid ran entirely on wind, solar, and hydro for the first time. But just five days later, the system imploded. A sudden, unexplained plunge in solar generation triggered a massive blackout, trapping people in elevators and stranding commuters in metro cars.

The cause? A grid running on “very little inertia,” according to experts. Traditional power plants—like coal, gas, and nuclear—provide stability by storing energy in rotating turbines that can buffer sudden demand shifts. Solar panels and wind turbines, by contrast, offer no such backup. When solar generation plummeted by over 50% in minutes, Spain’s grid had no failsafe. The country was forced to import power from France and Morocco while scrambling to restart gas and hydro plants.

This disaster underscores a brutal truth: renewables are intermittent by nature. Spain, a global leader in wind and solar (43% of its energy mix), learned the hard way that weather-dependent power cannot replace reliable baseload generation. Yet Maine policymakers, hypnotized by climate activism, are racing to replicate Spain’s mistakes.

Maine’s Self-Inflicted Crisis

Maine’s energy woes are no accident. They’re the direct result of policies that prioritize green virtue-signaling over affordability and reliability. Consider:

1. Foreign Profits Over Ratepayers: Iberdrola’s takeover of CMP aligns with its global strategy—maximize returns for Spanish shareholders while offloading costs onto captive customers. With no SEC oversight, Maine regulators can’t even track how much money is being siphoned overseas.

1. Renewable Mandates Driving Up Costs: Maine’s aggressive renewable portfolio standards force utilities to buy expensive wind and solar power while shuttering reliable gas and oil plants. These costs are passed directly to consumers.

1. Grid Vulnerability: Like Spain, Maine’s push for renewables ignores the need for grid stability. The state’s reliance on intermittent sources leaves it vulnerable to blackouts during extreme weather—a growing threat as climate policies ironically make the grid less resilient.

1. Hypocrisy of the “Just Transition”: While elites lecture Mainers about “clean energy,” they’re insulated from the consequences. Rural families and small businesses bear the brunt of rate hikes and outages, while wealthy coastal enclaves cheerlead policies they don’t have to live with.

The Path Forward

Maine doesn’t have to repeat Spain’s mistakes. Solutions are within reach—if policymakers abandon their green fever dream:

• Demand Transparency: Force Iberdrola and Versant to open their books. If foreign corporations profit from Maine’s grid, they must answer to Maine’s people.
• Embrace All Energy Sources: Nuclear, hydropower, and natural gas provide clean, reliable baseload power. Pretending wind and solar alone can sustain a modern grid is fantasy.
• Reject Radical Climate Policies: Net-zero mandates and electric vehicle quotas will only worsen affordability. Maine needs pragmatism, not ideology.
• Restore Local Control: Utilities should serve ratepayers, not distant corporate masters. If CMP and Versant can’t deliver, Maine should explore public options.

Conclusion

Maine’s energy crisis is a cautionary tale of corporate exploitation and ideological folly. Spain’s blackout proves that renewables alone cannot power a first-world economy. Yet instead of learning from these failures, Maine’s leaders double down on policies that enrich foreign investors and punish working families.

The truth is simple: reliable energy requires balance. Until Maine stops sacrificing its people at the altar of climate extremism, the lights will keep flickering—and the bills will keep rising.