LEWISTON, Maine — The Maine Public Utilities Commission held its first of three public witness hearings set for this month.
The hearing in Lewiston Tuesday night was regarding Central Maine Power Company's request for a distribution rate hike.
The utility is proposing a three-year rate hike of the distribution portion of a customer's electric bill. If approved, it could raise residential rates by as much as $10 a month for an average customer by 2026.
For the first year, customer's bills would be expected to go up $5 per month, followed by $3 and $2 over years two and three, Jon Breed said, a CMP spokesperson.
"We designed it that way to minimize the impact to ratepayers to lift the burden that an individual might experience," Breed told NEWS CENTER Maine.
The revenue CMP would get from raising rates is expected to go toward upgrading utility poles and wires that connect electricity to our homes, Breed explained. It would also fund types of projects like modernizing the 60s-era substation in Portland.
"These investments are critical to the electrical infrastructure of our state as we modernize the grid and as we plan for climate change which is happening here," Breed added.
Ultimately, the Maine PUC will decide whether or not to approve the rate hike.
"We’re trying to get the balance right between making sure that rates are just and reasonable for both the perspective of the customer and the utility," Maine Public Utilities Chair Philip Bartlett told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Bartlett said he expects the commission to make its decision on the rate hike by July.
The remaining hearings will take place:
• April 6 at 4 p.m. at the Maine PUC offices, 26 Katherine Drive, Hallowell. This hearing will have a virtual option.
• April 11 at 6 p.m. at the Ramada Inn, 352 North St., Saco.