AUGUSTA, Maine — Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, spoke at a town hall meeting in Fort Kent last weekend, and one topic dominated.
"The number one issue was higher energy costs, from electric to gas, oil to propane," Jackson said.
This month, Mainers are paying their highest energy costs in many years. The electricity price went up 80 percent or more on Jan. 1.
Oil, gasoline, and propane have increased steadily and then surged in the past two weeks because of the war in Ukraine. With the U.S. dropping Russian oil, those prices are expected to climb even higher.
"It's clear Mainers are desperate for relief, and I don't blame them," Jackson said.
Democrats highlighted four bills already in the Legislature they said can help ease some of the financial pain for Mainers. Those include a bill for an income tax rebate of $1,000 for eligible residents, along with a $2,500 rebate for some small businesses to make changes in the annual procedures for seeking bids from electricity suppliers for the standard offer price, in hopes of realizing lower prices than the current rate.
Two other bills relate to reducing red tape and bureaucratic delays in the LIHEAP process, which provides fuel assistance for low-income residents. A leader of the agencies that distribute those funds said there had been delays this year, in part because the agencies are short-staffed. She also admitted the application process is complex because of federal government rules.
The lawmakers all said they needed to do what they could to ease the impact of high energy prices, though they also admitted their limited options.
"We believe no Mainer should struggle to heat their home or struggle to choose between [having enough] food and heating their home," Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, said.
The lawmakers said the most immediate help might come from Gov. Janet Mills' plan to use some of the projected state budget surplus to send $750 checks to most Maine residents.
Like the other proposals, the budget is still being worked on by the Legislature and may not have any final votes for several weeks.
Republican leaders have said those checks should be sent out as quickly as possible.
Sen. Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, said he supports that but added lawmakers need to push for long-term change to reduce energy costs.
"The sooner we can get a direct payment to folks, they will be better off," Stewart said. "But long term, we need to get costs under control, and one of the ways is to address the soon-to-be spiking effect net energy billing will have."
Net energy billing is a method of paying solar generators, in particular, or electricity they feed into the grid. Republicans complain a bill passed in 2019 will increase costs for all electricity ratepayers.
Democrats, in particular, have supported the net energy billing plans as a way to speed up more solar development as a way to battle climate change.
All those bills still need legislative action. One of them, a bill to streamline the application process for LIHEAP funds, passed unanimously in committee on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for state Senate Democrats said several of the bills already have some GOP support.