Emera Maine seeks to acquire Swans Island Electric Cooperative
If Emera Maine acquires the Swans Island Electric Cooperative, islanders there and on neighboring Frenchboro could enjoy sharply lower electricity rates, the Mount Desert Islander reported.
At a “settlement conference” on Dec. 8, the Maine Public Utilities Commission
is expected to approve the acquisition.
Jeffrey Ellison, general manager of the Swans Island Electric Cooperative, told the paper that switching the cooperative’s customers to Emera by the end of this year is feasible.
As Emera customers, most residential electricity users on the two islands would pay about 47% less than they do now, the newspaper reported. Large residential customers would see a reduction of about 41%. Commercial customers would pay about 33% less.
SIEC has been providing electricity to island residents since 1949.
Emera’s Service Reliability Program for Swan’s Island and Frenchboro, posted in SIEC’s website in July, said Emera inspected SEIC’s infrastructure and found it functional.
“Based on a detailed assessment of the submarine cables to both islands, Emera will decide when to replace these cables. Emera estimates that it will spend approximately $2.75 million to replace all of the cables,” the document said.
Emera contracted with SGC Engineering to perform GIS data gathering and mapping for the entire electric infrastructure on both islands. The document said Emera will replace all SIEC meters with “smart meters” that are capable of recording consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicate that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing.
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