Bill Nemitz: Former Gov. Baldacci, a board member, hides from questions about CMP
By Bill Nemitz 6/26/19
Few things brighten up a dismal situation like the phrase “I know a guy.”’
It implies that, as intractable as a problem may be, having a contact on the inside just might help, if not resolve it altogether.
Take for example Central Maine Power Co.’s disastrous roll-out of its new $56 million billing system, expertly chronicled in last weekend’s Maine Sunday Telegram by Staff Writers Tux Turkel and Penelope Overton.
Their accounts of the company’s stupefying dysfunction, coupled with the unforgivable distress it has caused more than a few everyday Mainers as they struggle to keep the lights on, raise the question: Can someone, anyone, talk some sense to this runaway utility? Someone to whom they might listen? Someone with a little clout?
Well, fellow Mainers, it turns out we do know a guy. His name is former Gov. John Baldacci.
Since 2014, the former two-term Democratic governor has sat on the board of Avangrid, Inc., which owns CMP under the corporate umbrella of the Spanish multinational energy giant Iberdrola. He currently serves as vice chairman of the board, for which he is paid a handsome $200,000 a year...............................................................
Late Tuesday afternoon, after leaving an email and two phone messages asking to speak with Baldacci about his connection to Avangrid, I heard back from the former chief executive.
“Board members don’t speak individually, we act and speak as a board,” he wrote. “Best to discuss the matter with the company’s executives/communications team.”
End of interview.
Had we actually chatted, I’d have asked Baldacci: How does it feel, after representing Maine for eight years in the Blaine House and, before that, for eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives, to hold a leadership position with a company whose corporate reputation is arguably the worst in recent Maine history?.........................................
Please read the full article here:
https://www.pressherald.com/2019/06/26/former-governor-board-member...
RELATED READING on CTFWP:
Is There Corruption in Maine?
http://www.windtaskforce.org/page/corruption-in-maine-1
First Wind - The Kurt Adams Story
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/first-wind-the-kurt-ada...
GOOGLE the following link (for some reason, this seems to be the only way to get to this page)
http://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-...
Baldacci's early ties to Iberdrola - working on their behalf while governor
What Every Maine Ratepayer Needs to Know
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/maine-electricity-rates...
Gov Baldacci's Task Force on Wind Power Development
http://www.windtaskforce.org/page/the-expedited-wind-law
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Comment
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Comment by Willem Post on June 26, 2019 at 4:17pm
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Iberdrola is a Spanish wind conglomerate that is using Baldacci as a frontman.
It is a common ploy by foreign companies to put an American appearance on the Spanish company, Soto’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Baldacci is just huckstering, using his insider contacts to silk line his pocket book and the pockets if his friends and family.
Already struggling Joe and Jane Maine Worker will see higher carbon taxes, higher electric rates and higher prices of goods and services in future years.
welcome to the elites fighting global warming the only way they know how.
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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