PORTLAND, Maine — When storms hit Maine, whether in winter or in summer, it's common for people to lose power. That's when utility companies step in to get everyone back on the grid, which of course requires money.
NEWS CENTER Maine has learned of new accusations claiming Central Maine Power is spending excessive amounts of money during its storm responses. It's money the company wants back, but new testimony by the Maine Public Advocate is challenging this, which CMP called “outrageous and irresponsible.”
The public advocate claims CMP exceeded staffing guidelines in 12 of 23 storms in 2022, and by doing so, it racked up excessive storm costs.
Now, the public advocate wants regulators to withhold nearly half of the $117 million CMP has requested to cover the cost of responding to those storms.
CMP's spokesperson Jon Breed said customers generally cover a percentage of storm response costs, overseen by the Public Utilities Commission.
According to the public advocate, it's money Mainers should not be on the hook for.
Breed argues customers won't see a change in their bills and they had a good reason for calling on more staff during storms.
“As we look to see a major storm come like winter storm Elliot, which knocked out 300,000 people and led to a federal disaster declaration, we went ahead and called crews ahead of time—pre-staged them so we could get power back on during the Christmas holiday,” Breed told NEWS CENTER Maine.
In its filing, the public advocate said it didn’t reach its conclusions lightly, saying in part, "...I assume that the motivation for this excessive spending was to more quickly restore service. However, that is no excuse for excessive spending. Regardless of the motive, ratepayers should not have to pay for imprudently incurred utility expenditures.”