Energy overhaul barely noticed Survey: Mainers unaware of choice

PORTLAND – Maine’s electric industry underwent a major overhaul two years ago to bring competition to the market, but that change has gone largely unnoticed by most Mainers.

A survey by the Independent Energy Producers of Maine found that 88 percent of residents are unaware of the changes.

The survey also found that most Mainers are not aware that they can choose their energy supplier. That’s not surprising since there’s little competition on the residential market.

The trade group commissioned the survey last June to determine Maine voters’ attitudes toward the Maine Electric Industry Restructuring Law, which introduced consumer choice in 2000.

The Independent Energy Producers of Maine is pushing to amend the law so more of the state’s electric supply comes from renewable resources.

The inability of renewable suppliers to compete with natural gas and oil has forced six of Maine’s 10 biomass power plants to close and several small hydroelectric plants to go off line.

“These plants can’t survive in a competitive market that looks at prices in the short term,” said Beth Nagusky, executive director of the Independent Energy Producers of Maine.

Nagusky wants state policy to reflect the value of renewable energy to reduce the state’s dependence on oil over the long term.

Phil Lindley, a spokesman for the Maine Public Utilities Commission, said he was surprised that so few consumers seem to be aware of restructuring.

That could change, he suggested, if the Legislature adopts a recommendation from a draft study the PUC is conducting on standard-offer electric service.

The PUC will suggest a checkoff for “green” power on home electric bills, starting in 2005. That would give customers the option to choose a renewable energy supply for their standard-offer service.