Maine Public Utilities Commission

Address

18 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0018

Phone

(207) 287-3831Fax (207) 287-1039

Website

maine.gov ↗

Utility landscape

• Central Maine Power (CMP) IOU

  Central and western Maine, approximately 800,000 customers, largest electric utility in the state

  Subsidiary of Avangrid (Iberdrola); faces persistent MPUC scrutiny over customer service failures, billing system errors, and reliability metrics. Subject to ongoing performance-based conditions and a management audit stemming from 2020 MPUC investigation findings.

• Versant Power (formerly Emera Maine) IOU

  Northern and eastern Maine including Bangor and Aroostook County regions, approximately 160,000 customers

  Acquired by ENMAX (Calgary-based) in 2020; MPUC approved the acquisition with conditions including ring-fencing and reporting requirements. Has pursued rate cases reflecting infrastructure investment needs in a largely rural, low-density territory.

• Maine Natural Gas IOU

  Limited natural gas distribution in select southern Maine communities including Brunswick and surrounding areas

  Small-scale LDC operating under MPUC jurisdiction; regulatory activity has been modest but faces longer-term questions around gas system investment given Maine's aggressive decarbonization goals and low gas penetration statewide.

• Unitil (Northern Utilities/Granite State Gas - Maine operations) IOU

  Natural gas distribution in southern Maine communities including Lewiston-Auburn area

  Operates under MPUC oversight for Maine gas distribution; rate cases have addressed infrastructure replacement and safety programs. Faces policy headwinds from Maine's climate action planning and potential gas demand decline.

• Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative (EMEC) coop

  Washington County and surrounding rural eastern Maine communities

  Federally regulated cooperative with limited direct MPUC jurisdiction; coordinates with the commission on interconnection and reliability matters. Serves extremely low-density territory with high per-customer infrastructure costs.

• Bangor Hydro District (City of Bangor municipal water) muni

  Bangor metropolitan area water and wastewater services

  Subject to limited MPUC oversight on water utility matters; rate adjustments periodically reviewed for infrastructure investment recovery tied to aging pipe replacement and PFAS remediation compliance under EPA mandates.

Key issues

• CMP grid modernization and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) deployment: MPUC is evaluating CMP's multi-year grid modernization plan including smart meter rollout, associated cost recovery mechanisms, and data privacy rules for interval usage data, with ongoing tension between ratepayer cost concerns and state clean energy integration mandates.
• New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission corridor ongoing regulatory and legal posture: Following the contentious referendum battle and subsequent litigation, MPUC continues oversight of CMP's NECEC construction and the associated benefits tracking framework required under the approved Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.
• Maine Climate Action Plan and utility decarbonization obligations: MPUC is engaged in rulemaking and proceedings to align utility integrated resource planning, electrification programs, and rate design with Maine's statutory goal of 80% renewable electricity by 2030 and broader economy-wide emissions reduction targets.
• Distributed Energy Resource (DER) interconnection reform: The commission has active proceedings addressing interconnection queue backlogs, cost allocation for distribution upgrades required by rooftop solar and small-scale storage projects, and alignment with FERC Order 2023 implementation at the transmission level affecting Maine utilities.
• Potential CMP and Versant Power municipalization or consumer-owned utility conversion: Legislative and advocacy pressure to convert CMP and Versant into a single consumer-owned utility (Pine Tree Power) remains a live political and regulatory issue following the 2023 ballot referendum; MPUC may face future legislative referrals or study mandates related to transition cost analysis and stranded investment questions.

Upcoming

• 2026-09-15

  Estimated deadline for MPUC Staff initial comments in CMP's pending distribution rate case filing; CMP is expected to seek recovery of significant capital expenditures related to storm hardening and AMI infrastructure (date estimated based on typical 10-month case schedule from anticipated late-2025 filing).

• 2026-10-01

  Estimated MPUC public hearing session on Versant Power's rate case or general rate review; Versant has been signaling a rate case filing to recover infrastructure investment costs, with a hearing window likely in fall 2026 per standard Maine rate case procedural timelines (date estimated).

• 2026-11-15

  Estimated MPUC order or interim ruling in the DER interconnection reform docket; commission staff issued a proposed rule framework in early 2026 and stakeholder comment periods are expected to conclude by October 2026, with a commission vote anticipated in Q4 2026 (date estimated).

• 2027-01-15

  Estimated deadline for Maine utilities to file updated Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) reflecting revised renewable portfolio and electrification load growth assumptions under MPUC's updated IRP rule; the commission is expected to issue final IRP rulemaking guidance by late 2026 triggering this filing obligation (date estimated).