Large businesses hit with big hike in electricity delivery charges
An increase in Central Maine Power Co.’s delivery charge approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission last summer has caused an average 19% hike for large businesses in southern and central Maine.
The Portland Press Herald reported the hike in delivery rates is driven by the convergence of several factors:
A $13.4 million increase in CMP’s contribution to Efficiency Maine Trust.
The conclusion of refunds for transmission line investments to CMP customers authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2015.
A temporary halt in federal damage awards of lawsuits over defunct nuclear plants such as Maine Yankee in Wiscasset that had been used to reduce utility customers’ bills.
Among the companies impacted is Huhtamaki, a food and drink packaging plant in Waterville, whose technology manager Paul Serbent told the newspaper the increased electricity costs make the Waterville plant vulnerable to having the parent company shift its production to one of its other manufacturing plants in the United States.
The Press Herald’s report highlights the complexity of electricity prices for businesses in Maine, which has the lowest costs in New England, but nevertheless lags regions of the United States where electricity prices are even lower.
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