131st Maine Legislature EUT Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee

 As 2023 advances, the 131st Maine Legislature has convened in Augusta to pursue its lawmaking agenda. Under the Legislature's rules, the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology (EUT) plays important roles.

The EUT Committee is one of the 17 joint standing committees of the Maine Legislature, charged with responsibilities pursuant to the Legislature's Joint Rules including considering and reporting to both chambers on legislation; reviewing and making recommendations on budgeting and fiscal policy issues concerning state government; conducting oversight and review of the actions of departments and agencies of state government; reviewing and making recommendations on gubernatorial appointments that require legislative confirmation; and performing other tasks assigned to them, like reviewing specific provisions of law, conducting studies on assigned topics, issuing reports on policy and legal issues of interest to the Legislature, and reporting out specific legislation pursuant to joint order. The EUT Committee exercises jurisdiction in the areas of energy, utilities and technology. Other committees exercise jurisdiction over other areas, such as environment and natural resources.

By rule, each of the joint standing committee consists of 13 members, 3 from the Senate and 10 from the House of Representatives. For the 131st Legislature, the following legislators have been assigned or appointed to the EUT Committee:

• Senator Mark Lawrence of York- Chair D - Senate District 35
• Senator Nicole Grohoski of Hancock D - Senate District 7
• Senator Matthew Harrington of York R - Senate District 33
• Representative Stanley Zeigler of Montville- Chair D - House District 40 
• Representative Mark Babin of Fort Fairfield R - House District 3 
• Representative James Boyle of Gorham D - House District 109 
• Representative Larry Dunphy of Embden U - House District 72 
• Representative Steven Foster of Dexter R - House District 32 
• Representative Valli Geiger of Rockland D - House District 42 
• Representative Christopher Kessler of South Portland D - House District 121 
• Representative Reagan Paul of Winterport R - House District 37 
• Representative Walter Runte of York D - House District 146 
• Representative Sophia Warren of Scarborough D - House District 124

The Committee's page on the legislative website provides information including contact information for Committee members and staff, and scheduling information, among other materials. 

An Act To Establish a Green New Deal for Maine

As Congress considers “Green New Deal” resolutions sponsored by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey, some state legislators are proposing their own Green New Deal concepts. Newly-released legislation under consideration by the Maine State Legislature would establish a "Green New Deal for Maine". Here's a look at the bill known as LD 1282, An Act To Establish a Green New Deal for Maine.

LD 1282 includes four main parts:

• Part A amends the law establishing Maine's renewable portfolio standard, to require that by 2040, each competitive electricity provider must demonstrate that at least 80% of its portfolio of supply sources for retail electricity sales in Maine is accounted for by renewable resources. Part A also revises Maine's statutory goals for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to include a long-term goal of reducing emissions to 75% to 80% below 2003 levels by 2040.
• Part B establishes an 11-member "Task Force for a Green New Deal" to create a plan to advance environmental sustainability, renewable energy and economic growth for Maine. The law would require the plan to include a strategy to achieve the increased renewable portfolio standard specified in Part A, plus a strategy for job creation, retention, and training, and a residential energy strategy, each meeting certain defined criteria.
• Part C requires the Public Utilities Commission and the Efficiency Maine Trust to propose legislation to establish a voluntary, virtual net metering program to facilitate the installation of solar photovoltaic energy systems on kindergarten to grade 12 public school buildings, with the program to begin no later than December 31, 2021.
• Part D creates a new 13-member "Commission on a Just Transition to a Low-carbon Economy" to ensure that Maine's transition to a low-carbon economy "benefits all residents fairly and equitably, with consideration for their sources of employment, levels of income and historical experience." The new Commission would be required to submit an annual report examining "principles of environmental justice, information about income inequality as it relates to environmental harm, professional training opportunities and investments and racial-specific and ethnic-specific effects of past, present and future trends in energy production and consumption", as well as options for accelerating the transition to beneficial electrification in the rail and automotive sectors.

LD 1282's prime sponsor is Representative Chloe Maxmin. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Shenna Bellows and Justin Chenette, and Representatives Seth Berry, Jeffrey Evangelos, Allison Hepler, Craig Hickman, and Henry Ingwersen. The bill has been referred to the legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology. As of March 13, 2019, the committee had not yet scheduled a public hearing on the bill.

Other states are considering their own Green New Deals through executive and legislative action. In January 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his inclusion of a state-level "Green New Deal" in New York's 2019 executive budget; the Connecticut General Assembly is considering H.B. 5002, An Act Concerning the Development of A Green New Deal; and the Rhode Island House considered a resolution (H.R. 5665) to study the benefits of a Green New Deal for Rhode Island. While the details vary from state to state, common themes in these initiatives include increasing renewable electricity requirements, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting jobs and social welfare.

Maine's energy legislation carryovers from 2017

When the First Regular Session of the 128th Maine State Legislature adjourned earlier this year, its committees reserved a list of bills for further debate in 2018.  A list of these carryover bills published by the legislative information office includes 16 bills carried over by the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology.  While new legislation may be proposed in the legislature's second session, the committee's work in 2018 will include action on these carried-over bills.

Here's an excerpt from the list of bills carried over, focused on the Energy, Utilities, and Technology committee:

• LD 131, An Act To Protect the Biomass Industry
• LD 140, An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Support Entrepreneurial Activity, Attract Business and Enhance Demographic In-migration by Investing in High-speed Broadband Infrastructure and To Amend the Law Governing the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund
• LD 257, An Act To Enable Municipalities Working with Utilities To Establish Microgrids
• LD 260, An Act to Create the Maine Energy Office
• LD 532, An Act to Remove the 100-megawatt Limit on Hydroelectric Generators under the Renewable Resources Laws
• LD 822, An Act to Ensure Fairness among Large Consumers of Natural Gas
• LD 1176, An Act To Ensure the Safety of Low-income Persons Who Are Deaf and Who Use Video and Captioned Phones by Providing Equitable Access to the Internet
• LD 1224, An Act To Allow for Greater Energy Competition in Maine by Amending the Law Governing Electric Generation or Generation-related Assets by Affiliates
• LD 1372, An Act To Increase Broadband Access for Rural Communities
• LD 1373, An Act To Protect and Expand Access to Solar Power in Maine
• LD 1444, An Act Regarding Large-scale Community Solar Procurement
• LD 1472, An Act To Lower the Costs of Broadband Service by Coordinating the Installation of Broadband Infrastructure
• LD 1487, An Act To Control Electricity Transmission Costs through the Development of Nontransmission Alternatives
• LD 1515, An Act To Reduce Electric Rates for Maine Businesses by Amending the Laws Governing Spending from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Trust Fund
• LD 1610, An Act To Protect Privacy of Online Customer Personal Information
• LD 1632, An Act To Establish the Manufacturing Jobs Energy Program

Based on these bill titles, the committee will be faced with continuing discussion over broadband; regulation and incentives for renewable energy resources including solar, hydroelectricity and biomass; economic development and reduction of electricity rates.

Massachusetts offshore wind RFP

Massachusetts' investor-owned electric distribution companies have issued a joint Request for Proposals for offshore wind energy projects.  Through the RFP, the utilities seek proposals for 400 megawatts (or more) of qualifying offshore wind energy generation and associated transmission, with winning bidders earning 15- to 20-year long-term contracts to sell project power.   This Massachusetts offshore wind RFP is designed as the first step in a staggered procurement schedule for compliance with a 2016 state law requiring the utilities to contract for 1,600 MW of aggregate nameplate capacity of offshore renewable generation by June 30, 2027.

In 2016, the Massachusetts legislature enacted the Energy Diversity Act, adding a new Section 83C to the Green Communities Act.  Section 83C provides in relevant part, "In order to facilitate the financing of offshore wind energy generation resources in the commonwealth, not later than June 30, 2017, every distribution company shall jointly and competitively solicit proposals for offshore wind energy generation; and, provided, that reasonable proposals have been received, shall enter into cost-effective long-term contracts."

The pending RFP is the first joint solicitation under Section 83C.   Through the RFP, the distribution companies are seeking to procure a total of approximately 400 MW of Offshore Wind Energy Generation.  The RFP defines this term as:

offshore electric generating resources derived from wind that: (1) are Class I renewable energy generating sources, as defined in Section 11F of Chapter 25A of the General Laws; (2) have a commercial operations date on or after January 1, 2018, that has been verified by the Department of Energy Resources; and (3) operate in a designated wind energy area for which an initial federal lease was issued on a competitive basis after January 1, 2012.

Bids are due by noon EDT on December 20, 2017.  The RFP prescribes a three-stage review process, including an initial eligibility and threshold screening, subsequent qualitative and quantitative review, and finally "further evaluation of remaining proposals to ensure selection of viable projects that provide cost -effective, reliable Offshore Wind Energy Generation with limited risk."

Pursuant to the Department of Public Utilities order approving the solicitation process, projects will be selected for negotiation by April 23, 2018, with contracts submitted for Department approval no later than July 31, 2018.

Maine net energy billing rules, 2017 revision

On January 31, 2017, the Maine Public Utilities Commission adopted revisions to its rule chapter 313, governing net energy billing.  Net metering, or net energy billing, is the metering and billing mechanism that Maine and most other states have adopted to promote the development of solar photovoltaic and other distributed renewable energy facilities.  While the Commission first adopted a net energy billing rule in the early 1980s, its 2017 revisions to that rule reduce the benefits of net metering for future projects.  Here's a look at Maine's revised net energy billing rules.

The Commission described its actions in a written order dated March 1, and published its final rule on the same date.   Most notably, the Commission reduced the amount of future generation facility output that can be netted against its transmission and distribution utility bill -- by first introducing, then reducing, a concept called "nettable energy."  Nettable energy is now the entire amount of energy generated by the facility, including the amount consumed by a customer “behind-the-meter”.  This shift -- from netting on a net basis, to netting on a gross basis -- is a significant change in state policy that is unfavorable for behind-the-meter generation.

As before, a net energy billing customer with solar or other eligible generation may offset all of its energy supply bill with its nettable energy.  But the Commission's new rule phases out the former 100% crediting of net energy for transmission and distribution charges.  Depending on the year into which a project is placed in service, the new rule reduces the portion of the "nettable output" -- what counts for netting -- by 10% in each of the next 10 years, reaching 0% T&D crediting for customers that become net energy billing customers after calendar year 2026.  The result is a gradual reduction of the incentive to net energy bill.  (Note that once a customer becomes a net energy billing customer, its rate treatment will generally last for 15 years.  Likewise, existing net energy billing customers may continue to net bill under the previous rule's approach for a 15-year period, after which they could continue to net for supply but not for T&D.)

The Commission also added a section covering renewable energy credit (REC) aggregation.  Section 4 of Chapter 313 provides that new customers in 2018 and after may elect to have the RECs or environmental attributes of project power be aggregated by their local investor-owned utility for sale into the regional market, with the proceeds returned to participating customers.  The Commission described its decision to include a REC aggregation program as "an effort to obtain on an optional basis a value stream that is not currently being monetized."  If small renewable projects would qualify for RECs, but are either not doing so or are not selling the RECs, REC aggregation options may allow some projects to connect with the market.  On the other hand, by selling the RECs, the project owner or power consumer cannot claim to have consumed green electricity, so there are tradeoffs.

The Commission did not change some other aspects of the rule, such as maximum project size (660 kW) or its limit on the number of accounts or meters permissible under a single net energy billing arrangement (10).  It noted, "Fundamental changes to NEB in Maine and promotional programs for larger renewable and community solar projects are the purview of the Legislature as a matter of State energy policy."

Based on a list of legislative requests, the state legislature will consider at least 12 bills relating to solar energy in its 2017 session.

On March 10, the Commission published a Frequently Asked Questions document covering the Chapter 313 net metering rules.  The FAQ provides answers to 10 questions, ranging from why the Commission changed the rule, to providing specific examples of how much nettable energy a customer would be able to claim depending on the year in which its project was placed in service.

Maine biomass procurement competitive standards

As the Maine Public Utilities Commission prepares for its upcoming procurement of biomass power resources, the Commission has requested public comment on the standards and criteria to be used in evaluating whether the solicitation is "not competitive."

This spring, the Maine State Legislature enacted An Act To Establish a Process for the Procurement of Biomass Resources.  The law directs the Maine Public Utilities Commission to initiate a competitive solicitation as soon as practicable, seeking proposals for 2-year contracts for up to 80 megawatts of biomass resources.  

But largely due to fairness and cost-containment concerns, the legislature created a "safety valve" in case the solicitation turns out to be "not competitive."  The Act specifies that “If the commission concludes that the solicitation ... is not competitive, no bidders may be selected and the commission is not obligated to enter into a contract.”

On May 17, 2016, the Commission issued a request for comment in its Procurement of Biomass Resources docket.  That request describes the Commission's plans to initiate the procurement process "in the near future" through the issuance of a request for proposals or RFP.  But before issuing the RFP, the Commission has requested comment on the standards and criteria to be used to determine whether the solicitation is “not competitive” pursuant to the Act.

Comments are requested by May 30, 2016.

Maine renewable energy report released

The Maine Public Utilities Commission has issued its latest annual report on Maine's use of renewable electricity, covering the 2014 calendar year.  The report shows the impact of Maine's renewable portfolio standard, a state law requiring electricity suppliers to source specified percentages of their electricity from renewable resources.  The report found that compliance costs have fallen nearly in half since 2013.

The Maine State House.

Since Maine's electric industry restructuring in 2000, state law has required competitive electricity providers -- retail suppliers -- to procure 30% of their load served from "eligible resources." These are generally defined in statute as renewable or cogeneration facilities.  A 2007 act of the Maine legislature added a mandate that specified percentages of electricity that supply Maine’s consumers be sourced from “new” renewable resources.  Generally, these are renewable facilities that have an in-service date, resumed operation or were refurbished after September 1, 2005.  This "Class I" renewable portfolio standard began at one percent of load in 2008, and increases in one percentage point each year until reaching ten percent in 2017.  The older "eligible resource" standard became known as "Class II."

The 2007 renewables law required the Public Utilities Commission to report annually to the legislature on the program and compliance.  Each year's report is based largely on the most recently filed Competitive Electricity Provider (CEP) annual compliance reports, which are filed each July, covering the prior calendar year.  So there is some lag between the events being tracked and the publication of the report.

The Commission has just released its report covering calendar year 2014. The report notes "approximately 75 certified facilities, with a total capacity of approximately 1220 MW," although some are not operating or are eligible for other states' renewable portfolio requirements.

In 2014, most suppliers complied with the Maine renewable portfolio requirement through the use of renewable energy certificates or RECs.  According to the report, RECs from 22 facilities were used by suppliers to comply with the 2014 new renewable resource requirement.  Of these, 18 are biomass, 3 are hydro, and 1 is a wind facility. 20 of the 22 facilities are located in Maine, one is located in Connecticut and one is located in Massachusetts. Maine facilities, mostly refurbished biomass plants, supplied 99% of the approximately 811,476 RECs purchased to meet the 2014 portfolio requirement.

For calendar year 2014, 78.05% of the Class I RPS requirement was satisfied through the purchase of RECs during that year, 0.0004 % was satisfied through an alternative compliance mechanism, 21.88% was satisfied using RECs banked from 2013 and 0.1130 % will be satisfied during a 2015 cure period allowed by rule. On top of this activity, 181,595 RECs were purchased in 2014 and banked for future use and an additional 8 RECs were purchased where the supplier did not indicate whether the certificates were to be banked or would not be used.

As the Commission notes in its report, "the prices for Maine Class I RECs declined substantially over the two years leading up to 2014. This has occurred because Maine’s portfolio requirement includes, as an eligible resource, refurbished biomass facilities (which are not generally eligible in other New England states)."

One result is that the annual cost of Class I compliance fell roughly in half since the last report, with a total cost of $14,296,249 in 2014 compared to just $6,947,269 in 2013.  The report describes the cost of Class I RECs used for compliance in 2014 as ranging from approximately $1.72 per MWh to $22.33 per MWh, with an average cost of $8.56 per MWh.  Adding $198 for one supplier who satisfied a portion of the portfolio requirement through alternative compliance mechanism at the rate of $66.16 per MWh, the report describes a total Class I compliance cost to ratepayers during 2014 of $6,947,269.  The Commission translated this into "an average rate impact of about 0.06 cents per kWh (or about 30 to 35 cents monthly for a typical residential bill). In percentage terms, this translates to a residential customer bill impact of about one half of 1%."

The report also describes the cost of Class II RECs used to satisfy the eligible resource portfolio requirement as ranging from $0.00 per MWh (some RECs were provided for free as part of an energy transaction) to $1.80 per MWh, with an average cost of $0.52 per MWh and a total cost of $1,834,314. According to the Commission, this translates into less than ten cents per month on a typical residential bill.

Energy in Maine's 2016 State of the State

Maine Governor Paul LePage has released his 2016 State of the State remarks in the form of a letter to the state legislature.  Among his top priorities detailed in the letter is addressing the high cost of electricity in the manufacturing and industrial sectors.  The eight-page letter also focuses on themes including welfare reform, lowering the income tax, reducing student debt and attracting youth, and fighting the drug crisis.

Energy issues appear in Governor LePage's letter as a focus for -- or obstacle to -- economic development.  In the letter, he repeats his position that "Maine's electricity prices are not competitive."  The letter criticizes legislative mandates supporting "long-term contracts for above-market rates" as adding $38 million in ratepayer costs.

The letter also addresses Maine's renewable energy policy, calling for support for Maine's biomass energy industry while criticizing the economics of wind and solar energy projects:

Socialists love to subsidize new wind and solar energy projects because they think it will save the earth, but that kind of expensive and inefficient energy benefits only a few wealthy investors, and our electrical generation is already one of the cleanest in the country. Instead, let's support the existing Maine-based biomass infrastructure that is already in place to take advantage of our plentiful natural resource: wood.

Indeed, references to socialism and socialists appear twelve times throughout Governor LePage's 2016 State of the State letter.  (A reference to Senator Bernie Sanders' candidacy for President?)

In his letter, Governor LePage also called for expansion of linear infrastructure like natural gas pipelines into New England and electric transmission lines to hydropower resources in Canada:

Meanwhile, my Administration continues to make progress working with other New England states to expand hydropower and natural gas into our region. Right now there is construction underway to expand our pipelines into New England, and clean and affordable hydropower is right next door in Quebec. It's time to switch off expensive energy. We must plug into the affordable reserves of nearby natural gas and hydropower. We must be willing to transmit hydropower to the states south of us.

These themes of energy infrastructure investment echo those playing out elsewhere in the Northeast U.S., as states explore expanded connections to natural gas from the Marcellus shale and Canadian hydropower.

Maine enacts energy bill to promote natural gas, energy efficiency

The Maine Legislature has enacted an omnibus energy bill designed to save consumers over $200 million per year.   For reasons ranging from a reliance on oil for home heating to inadequate natural gas pipeline capacity into New England, Maine’s energy costs are well above the national average. In response, a bipartisan group of legislators pulled together a package of measures to cut energy costs.

The Maine State House, Augusta, Maine.

The resulting bill, LD 1559, "An Act To Reduce Energy Costs, Increase Energy Efficiency, Promote Electric System Reliability and Protect the Environment", brings together elements of over ten other bills that came before the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utility, and Technology this year.  Last week, the Legislature enacted the bill by wide margins in both chambers: it received a vote of 131-7 in the House, and 29-6 in the Senate.

Highlights of the bill as enacted include:

Requires the Public Utilities Commission to help cut electricity costs:

• For the first time ever, requires the Public Utilities Commission to work to minimize the cost of energy to Maine’s consumers and to set rates to achieve economic efficiency

Expands heating options:

• Extends utility pilot programs to offer efficient electric heat pumps

Improves energy efficiency:

• Gives the Public Utilities Commission and Efficiency Maine Trust a revised policy directive to reduce energy costs and improve security of the state and local economies by pursuing all cost-effective energy efficiency for homes and businesses, including conservation in both electricity and heating fuel consumption
• Directs Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative proceeds to lower commercial and industrial energy costs, reduce residential heating energy demand in a fuel-neutral way, and provide rate relief
• Caps electric efficiency spending at no more than 4% of total retail electricity and transmission and distribution sales in Maine
• Gives the Public Utilities Commission improved tools for overseeing efficiency programs
• Uses Maine Yankee litigation settlement funds for energy efficiency investment and rate relief
• Approves the Trust’s contract with Maine utilities for energy efficiency

Lowers electricity and natural gas costs:

• Authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to execute or direct utilities to execute energy cost-reduction contracts if necessary and appropriate to reduce the “basis differential” cost of natural gas in New England and thus to reduce the cost of electricity in Maine
• Protects ratepayers from cost increases resulting from the energy cost-reduction contracts
• Creates the Energy Cost Reduction Trust Fund to hold energy cost-reduction contract revenues, to be held in trust for the purposes of reducing the energy costs of Maine consumers

Improves controls over the cost of electricity transmission:

• Establishes a least cost electric transmission policy that gives the Public Utilities Commission improved tools to evaluate whether non-transmission alternatives can   address identified needs at lower cost

Improves the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative:

• Aligns Maine’s carbon emissions budget with other RGGI states’ budgets
• Adopts the new RGGI reforestation offset to benefit both large and small Maine forest owners.
• Directs the Department of Environmental Protection and Public Utilities Commission to develop incentives for consumers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by switching from oil and coal to alternative fuels such as natural gas, biomass, or other renewables

Brings competition into municipal streetlighting:

• Requires transmission and distribution utilities to give municipalities options to participate in the ownership and management of their own streetlighting systems

Expands ocean energy options:

• Gives consideration to the University of Maine’s deepwater floating offshore wind pilot project and potential ocean energy projects, in addition to Statoil’s proposal

With the bill enacted as an emergency measure, absent a procedural roadblock it will become law later this month.

April 14, 2011 - California establishes 33% renewable energy standard

California established a 33% renewable energy standard this week when Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 2X.  That bill creates a legislative mandate that California utilities and other electric service providers must source 33% of the electricity they sell to retail consumers from renewable resources.  The Governor's signing ceremony followed the bill's passage by each chamber of California's legislature with a majority vote - 26-11 in the Senate and 55-19 in the Assembly.

Electric vehicle charging station, Burlington, Vermont.

California's new 33% RPS law is not its first renewable electricity standard.  The California Legislature had previously enacted an RPS that required utilities to source 20% of their electricity from renewables. In fact, California has already had a 33% RPS.  After legislation increasing the renewable mandate failed to pass at the end of the last decade, in September 2009 Governor Schwarzenegger raised the RPS to 33% by executive order.

SB 2X also relieves some jurisdictional uncertainty over the RPS.  California's original legislative 20% RPS was administered by the California Public Utilities Commission, but Governor Schwarzenegger's  Executive Order gave the California Air Resources Board authority over the additional RPS mandate beyond 20%.  SB 2X restores the CPUC's authority over the RPS, giving it a mandate to develop rules implementing the shift.

July 28, 2010 - Alta Wind Energy Center breaks ground; PACE financing

Today's picture: Central Maine Power transmission lines off Route 201 in Topsham, Maine.

In California, the Alta Wind Energy Center — with plans for thousands of acres of turbines to generate electricity for 600,000 Southern California homes — officially broke ground yesterday.  Here's the official project website, which is running a bit slowly today (likely due to all the interest in the project).  Terra-Gen Power, LLC does have a slick website that is worth checking out.  Some highlights include:

• The Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC), under developed by Terra-Gen Power, is composed of multiple projects.  The first AWEC development is the Alta-Oak Creek Mojave Project.
• The Alta-Oak Creek Mojave Project will be composed of up to 320 wind turbine generators and supporting infrastructure.
• The Project will be developed primarily on privately-owned land adjacent to existing wind energy developments in the Tehachapi area of California.
• The Project is projected to add 50 full-time jobs to the Kern County economy.

 Interest in smart grid deployment is growing.  Federal policy supports smart grid development, and many states are following suit with more specific provisions.  For example, this spring, the Maine Legislature enacted LD 1535 (now P.L. 2009 Ch. 539).  This bill, sponsored by Representative Jon Hinck of Portland, gives Maine a specific smart-grid policy for the first time.  Both CMP and Bangor Hydro, Maine's largest investor-owned utilities are already rolling out smart meters; the legislative policy declaration builds upon this head start.

In enacting the smart grid bill, the Maine Legislature found that:

• The cost of electricity to consumers in this State is high in comparison to costs in similar markets and impedes economic development;
• The State has recognized the consequences of climate change and has committed to policies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases;
• The State's electric grid and long-term infrastructure investment are vital to continued security and economic development, and smart grid functions will deliver electricity from suppliers to consumers using modern technology to increase reliability and reduce costs in a way that saves energy and to enable greater consumer choice;
• The State currently lacks a comprehensive smart grid policy but faces critical decisions regarding the implementation of smart grid functions and associated infrastructure, technology and applications, and the commission and the Legislature will play central roles in making those decisions; and
• It is vital that a smart grid policy be developed in order to ensure that all ratepayers and the State as a whole are afforded the benefits of smart grid functions and associated infrastructure, technology and applications.

Based on these findings, the Legislature enacted a policy of promoting the development, implementation, availability and use of smart grid functions and associated infrastructure, technology and applications in the State.

With this policy in place, the ball is now in the court of smart grid infrastructure developers.  We now have a law that will support roll-out of smart grid projects in Maine.  Who will be the first to propose one?

A bit of personal news, related to energy: an article I co-authored with a colleague and a client has been published in Paper360 Magazine. Click through to read about how a pulp and paper mill navigates the waters of compliance with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and other climate change regulation.



How about PACE financing? PACE-promoting provisions got stripped out of the current Senate energy bill. These tweaks are viewed as necessary to let PACE programs flourish, as government-backed lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have suggested that they won't play with PACE.