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Maine PUC Issues Report Re: Capping Electric Supply Prices At SOS Rates For Low Income Assistance Recipients
The Maine PUC issued a report on May 31, responsive to the chairs of the Joint Standing Energy, Utilities, and Technology Committee, on stakeholder feedback regarding options to address administrative questions that were raised in light of discussions of “capping the price for electricity supply service from a competitive electricity provider (CEP) at the standard-offer price for customers participating in a low-income assistance program.”
The MEPUC said that while implementing a cap would likely fall on the utilities, the regulator expressed concern that utilities acting in this role could be administratively burdensome, would place utilities in an inappropriate enforcement role, could result in costs socialized to all ratepayers, and might discourage suppliers from participating in the market. The MEPUC also raised concerns that AARP’s suggestion to prohibit retail suppliers from serving low-income customers would send the message “that low-income customers are not capable of making decisions for themselves,” and instead renewed its suggestion of “requiring a CEP to obtain express, written authorization from its customers before renewing any contract for service.” The MEPUC also declined to comment on OPA’s and AARP’s suggestion of phasing out the residential retail market entirely, saying this “goes beyond the scope of what we were asked to address.”
ME CEP Committee Letter Report (05/31/2024)
CEP Committee Letter Report CEP Committee Letter Report
