Kay Aikin is CEO of Dynamic Grid in Portland and a member of the U.S. Department of Energy Grid Wise Architecture Council. Rep. Gerry Runte, D-York, is in his second term in the Maine Legislature, representing parts of Wells and York as well as the town of Ogunquit. He serves on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Joint Committee.
Mainers pay some of the highest electricity bills in the country. Now, Central Maine Power wants to raise those bills by another $35 per month by 2031 to fund infrastructure and workforce upgrades. While investments in reliability and resilience are essential, the proposed increase, on top of recent years’ hikes, has rightly been called “massive and unacceptable” by Gov. Mills.
CMP’s request is a symptom of a deeper problem: Maine lacks a strategic plan for modernizing its electricity grids in a way that ensures affordability, reliability and climate alignment. Without such a plan, we’ll continue to lurch from rate case to rate case, locking in costs for ratepayers while missing opportunities to invest wisely.
Yes, we need stronger poles and more line workers. But we also need a new way of thinking about the grid itself, one that recognizes that today’s grid is no longer just wires and substations. It is more than the sum of its parts; it is a network of homes, businesses and communities equipped with solar panels, heat pumps, batteries, EV chargers and smart thermostats.
These distributed energy resources (DERs) are no longer optional; they are the building blocks of a clean, reliable and affordable energy future. Yet CMP’s proposal focuses on conventional infrastructure, ignoring lower-cost, customer-centered alternatives.
Maine’s regulatory framework has not yet caught up. Integrated Distribution Planning is underway at the Public Utilities Commission; however, the process is currently fragmented and reactive. Utilities file plans in isolation, regulators respond in silos and the long-term vision gets lost. CMP’s rate case is the latest example of a utility advancing costly investments without a clear roadmap for the grid’s long-term future.
Maine needs a better way to make decisions. That’s why we support establishing a long-range grid planning group in law, with the authority and independence to chart a more innovative course and put affordability, equity and climate at the center. This group should:
- Build on existing planning but move beyond piecemeal proceedings.
- Apply principles of Clean Capital Efficiency, maximizing the use of existing infrastructure before building new.
- Map out where DERs and targeted upgrades can reduce costs and improve reliability.
- Develop a 10-year roadmap with measurable performance standards.
- Include utilities, regulators, consumer advocates, labor, DER providers and community representatives — ensuring transparency and trust.
These goals are not radical ideas, but common-sense economic solutions that could delay or downsize major infrastructure investments, saving ratepayers money while making the grid more resilient.
It’s essential that Maine establish a planning group within the Public Utilities Commission to redesign the way we plan, regulate and value distributed energy. This group would:
- Be community-informed, prioritizing equity and rural inclusion.
- Redesign compensation to reward customer participation in grid services.
- Chart a path for utilities to evolve their business models and support distributed energy, unlocking its full value.
- Apply systems thinking to anticipate rather than react to change.
Other countries, such as Australia, have achieved this with great success. Their early investment in systems-based planning has enabled them to become global leaders in DER integration. Maine doesn’t need to copy their model, but we should learn from their method.
CMP’s rate hike proposal should be a wake-up call. Maine must stop treating grid investments as one-off fights. Regulators must ask: Are these projects reducing long-term costs? Are we maximizing the grid we have? Are we valuing the role of customers?
If the answer is no, we need to pause. Mainers deserve a strategy, not another surprise.
Done right, this group will provide lawmakers, regulators and utilities with the evidence-based guidance to make smarter choices. It will replace reactive spending with proactive strategy. It will build public trust that facts, not politics, are guiding our energy future. Let’s create the smarter, more affordable energy future Maine needs — before we lock in another decade of regrets.