As Mainers see our cherished landscapes shrouded in smoke from burning boreal forests to the north, watch daily temperature records break or endure relentless rainstorms and punishing droughts, we realize that climate catastrophe isn’t a future menace – it’s an immediate threat. What will we say to children years hence when they ask, “What did you do in the fight against climate change?”

“What do CMP and Versant have against renewable energy? It’s more profitable for them to build transmission lines carrying power from distant generation sources than to facilitate local microgrids, especially ones where clean power, like solar and wind, is generated and stored close to where the power is used,” wrotes Amy Eshoo of Maine Climate Action Now. Iaremenko Sergii/Shutterstock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Eshoo is director of Maine Climate Action Now, a statewide coalition supporting transformative action in response to the climate crisis.

Hopefully, we’ll answer, “We pushed relentlessly to stop burning carbon and quickly switched to clean renewable energy.” That’s what we should all be working toward today with every ounce of strength, resourcefulness and courage we have.

We have before us this November a golden opportunity to clear a path to a modernized grid that’s reliable, built to handle the clean energy transition, and affordable to all Mainers. Voting “yes” on Question 3 removes the two biggest obstacles now blocking this path to climate crisis solutions, namely the investor-owned corporate utilities Central Maine Power and Versant, and replacing them with a nonprofit, publicly owned Pine Tree Power company.

Everyone agrees that moving to clean energy requires improving Maine’s dilapidated grid infrastructure. As we replace fossil fuel-powered heating and transportation with electric technology, the burden on the existing poles and wires will be overwhelming, like trying to load an old 16-foot canoe with 2,000 pounds of gear.

This grid overhaul is a major undertaking needing big investments, forward thinking and smart technology to succeed. Most of all it requires 100% commitment to serving the interests of Mainers, and that’s where our corporate utilities fall short. At every turn CMP and Versant show whose interests they serve – their overseas shareholders’, not ours.

Corporations exist to provide their investors with returns, but while some pursue profit by outperforming their competitors, others cut corners to minimize expense while juicing revenue with little regard for customers. This approach is especially tempting for corporations holding monopolies with no competition to keep them honest. In the case of electric utilities, the state is supposed to protect the captive customers, but as we’ve seen, somehow the customers seem to get the short end of the stick.

Some communities in Maine already own their own grid, paying less for more reliable power. Let’s give that control and security to everyone. Pine Tree Power would be a nonprofit owned by its customers (not “government-run”) and would cost taxpayers nothing. Customers would save as much as $9 billion over the next 30 years. Profits now extracted by the utility corporations could instead be invested in improving our grid.

CMP and Versant assure us that they’re on board with renewable energy. But actions speak louder than words. Central Maine Power has a long, well-documented history of throwing its considerable weight around in Augusta to block or stall crucial renewable-energy policies like rooftop solar. And both companies have been slower than molasses at allowing new renewable-energy generators the opportunity to connect to the grid and provide more desperately needed clean energy.

What do CMP and Versant have against renewable energy? It’s more profitable for them to build transmission lines carrying power from distant generation sources than to facilitate local microgrids, especially ones where clean power, like solar and wind, is generated and stored close to where the power is used. But innovative solutions like these are exactly what we need to combat climate change. Under Pine Tree Power, Mainers will call the shots, not executives in a boardroom with one eye on Wall Street.

And that, at the end of the day, is what Question 3 really comes down to: Do we continue allowing corporations to make decisions that will make or break Maine’s future or do we make those decisions ourselves?

Please join us in voting “yes” on Question 3 this November to take bold, community-led action for a cleaner, more resilient Maine.