AUGUSTA, Maine — Joe Purington has been the leader of Central Maine Power (CMP) for the last two years, navigating the complexity of a number of controversies and challenges.
"I'm very pleased about the accomplishments of our company over the last couple years," he told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Purington sat down for an interview a week after voters struck down an effort to replace CMP with a consumer owned utility. Seventy percent of voters sided with the company.
"While that is behind us, now it will give us the opportunity to continue to bring in other stakeholders and really start to accelerate conversations around what we're doing," Purington said.
Nearly $40 million was spent on the campaign to fight the grassroots "Pine Tree Power" movement. It was largely funded by the parent companies of CMP and Versant.
CMP's parent company, Avangrid, funneled $23 million into the campaign, with much of the money going to online and TV ads that pushed back against claims a public utility would save customers money and improve reliability.
Purington refused to answer several questions about the amount of funding. With the two companies outraising Pine Tree Power 40 to one.
"You know, we're focused on operating on the grid every single day and ensuring that we're meeting our customers expectations," he said.
Still, the company has a perception problem. JD Power ranked Central Maine Power among the worst in the nation for customer satisfaction again last year.
"First, I am a native Mainer. I grew up in Jay," Purington said. "We are consistently looking at how we're performing. Every day at 8:30, Monday through Friday every morning, we have a reliability call, and we review everything from the current weather to how the system is being configured."
Purington said they have also bolstered community relations efforts to keep Mainers informed about work in their communities.
He touted the benefits of having the resources of a global company to support an everchanging electric grid, including new automated technology they claim will limit outages and restore power in just minutes in some cases.
"I have seen the benefits of automation on the grid and how it can reduce the number of customers impacted by each and every outage that occurs on the grid and how we're able to restore customers from this very control room," Purington said.
In the face of adversity, Purington is resolute in continuing to pave a path forward and restore trust in the company, one customer at a time.
"I want future generations to thrive in this state. I think having a strong utility company like Central Maine Power is critical to the success of the state," he said.
Our Power, the group behind Question 3, shared a statement with NEWS CENTER Maine.
"Central Maine Power and its parent companies poured almost $40 million into misleading voters rather than fixing their worst in the nation service.," spokesperson Al Cleveland wrote.
The organization has vowed to continue to fight for local power over utilities in Maine.