Two wrongs don’t make a right. LD 994 (Resolve, To Require the Approval by the Public Utilities Commission of a Proposal for a Long-term Contract for Deep-water Offshore Wind Energy) though perhaps well intended, is deeply flawed. While recently approved by the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, let’s be clear.
In August 2018, the Maine Public Utilities Commission reopened the term sheet for the Maine Aqua Ventus project and asked for clarification on 8 items to “ensure that the proposal continues to meet the legal requirements.” MAV provided none of the requested information. The EUT is now recommending the PUC be forced into a long-term contract – an action which has not taken place in the past 35 years, if ever – without allowing the PUC to do its due diligence.
This action is an assault on the “checks and balances” between different arms of government and diminishes our democracy. Secondly, this bill, if approved, imposes a tax on Maine CMP rate payers without having done the proper cost/benefit analysis.
While some members of the Legislature are not pleased with past decisions of the PUC, action should be taken after the PUC has made an informed decision with the information requested. While appreciative of the desire to move forward with wind energy opportunities for the State, this is not the way to proceed. Two wrongs do not make a right. Legislators on both sides of the aisle should vote “no” on LD 994.
Andrew Fenniman
Chamberlain
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