Maine Public Advocate talks aging power grid, natural gas and more about rising electricity prices
BANGOR, Maine (WABI) — The ongoing discussion around electricity hikes seem to get more complex by the day.
At the start of this year, both Central Maine Power and Versant Power customers saw an increase in their bill, but the question is why?
Third Way, an advocacy organization, appointed their Climate and Energy team to look deeper into the facts.
“Over half of the electricity supplied in the New England area is from natural gas,” said Francesca Hsie, the deputy director for electricity. “It has been what we’ve seen replace coal and oil fire generation and over the last few years there’s been significant price spikes.”
Something Maine’s Public Advocate has had on their radar.
“We saw a huge spike in 2022-2023 just after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and things moderated a little, but still a huge amount of pressure on global natural gas supply, and we really feel that in New England because it really sets our supply prices,” said Heather Sanborn.
Another driver for higher rates is the aging power grid across New England that was built between the 1950’s and 70’s.
Hsie says investing in maintenance for the grid can also drive up costs.
“No matter what new generation we bring online, we need to invest in the grid, so just overall maintenance plus the storms,” said Hsie.
“That had a huge expense particularly on CMP’s grid, and right now that amounts to $20 a month on the average residential electric bill, just from those giant storms in 2023 and 2024,” agreed Sanborn.
When asked what’s being done to reduce costs and create affordability, Sanborn said efforts like offshore wind projects, solar panels, and the recent New England Clean Energy Connect through CMP that just went live in 2025 bringing in hydropower from Canada can reflect on bills.
However, the complexity of affordability remains.
“We are pushing back in every place that it’s possible,” said Sanborn. “Things like natural gas commodity costs is hard because it’s outside the control of Mainers. This is not really being driven by the solar panels on your neighbors roof or something like that. There are some really significant cost drivers, so folks are really trying to get a handle on electricity affordability.”
If you have any issues with your electricity bill call your power company immediately.
If you’re struggling to keep up with your electricity bill call 2-1-1.
Sanborn says you can also call the office of Maine Public Advocate to get a breakdown on your electricity bill as well.
Third Way Study: https://www.thirdway.org/blog/whats-driving-high-electricity-prices-in-maine
Recent report prepared for the Maine Department of Energy Resources: https://www.maine.gov/energy/sites/maine.gov.energy/files/2026-02/Factors%20Driving%20Electricity%20Prices%20in%20Maine%20Feb%202026%20Brattle%20for%20DOER.pdf
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