Mainers face shock in 2022 electricity rates - Environmental groups have stalled natural gas pipeline expansion

Experts say the expected increase is primarily a result of rising prices for natural gas. Maine's solar policies also could increase rates in the coming years.

EXCERPTS

A majority of Mainers could see the rate they pay for their home’s electricity supply jump between 60 and 80 percent next year, based on assumptions provided to the Legislature by the state Public Utilities Commission, as well as wholesale prices observed by energy experts...............

Silkman, whose company negotiates power contracts for companies and institutions, said wholesale electricity prices for delivery over the winter in New England are more than twice what they were last year. Those prices form a foundation for the higher retail rates home customers will have to absorb in 2022.

Complicating the outlook is an ongoing debate over the potential impact of state incentives that have triggered a multimillion-dollar boom in solar energy projects. Silkman and others say the impact – while real – will be modest in the near term...........................

NATURAL GAS PRICES DOUBLE

While some residential customers sign individual contracts with retail energy suppliers, the vast majority of Mainers get their electricity supply via the standard offer service and the annual bids overseen by the PUC. Both CMP and Versant distribute electricity over wires, but they don’t generate it and aren’t responsible for the ups and downs in the supply cost..........................

A contributing factor is inadequate pipeline capacity in the region to serve both heating needs and power plants on the coldest winter days. Environmental groups and public opposition have stalled pipeline expansion in recent years.

To keep the lights on during hours of peak demand, the grid operator may need to call on backup power plants that burn oil, such as Wyman Station in Yarmouth. The region also may take more deliveries of liquefied natural gas from an import terminal in New Brunswick, Canada. Both options are more costly and drive up market prices, Silkman said. Ultimately, they are reflected in the supply bids offered to the PUC...............................

Compounding the economic impact for customers is a recent  increase in transmission and distribution rates linked to carrying power over wires to homes and businesses.

In July, a PUC-approved rate hike tied to federally mandated transmission investment charges in New England boosted the average monthly bill for a CMP residential customer by roughly 11 percent, to $90 a month. The pending hike in supply rates will be on top of that.

SOLAR POLICIES A FACTOR

If fallout from natural gas prices and transmission investments weren’t enough, Mainers will, over time, face rising rates tied to another factor – the state’s solar energy policies......................

The solar impact and standard offer estimates were contained in an email sent Monday to members of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. The calculations were in response to queries some panel members made about the impact of the state’s net energy billing policy, which has created robust incentives for developers to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in solar projects........................

Whatever the precise impact of Maine’s solar policy, it’s going to hurt Maine electric customers, according to Rep. Nate Wadsworth, R-Hiram. A member of the energy committee, Wadsworth said he thought it was “pretty scary, pretty serious,” when he read the PUC estimates Monday morning. He expects them to be a topic of discussion next Wednesday, when the committee has scheduled an out-of-session meeting to review outstanding business.

“Republicans have never supported the net energy billing concept,” Wadsworth said. “We heard that Maine ratepayers are going to pay these costs. And now with these projects coming online, the bills are coming due.”

Please read the full article at https://www.pressherald.com/2021/11/09/mainers-to-face-double-digit...

As if range anxiety, long charging times, poor crash worthiness of electronics and sudden fires weren't enough...............................

Why would a "planet saving" EV driver be taking a plane anyway?

Sign seen at Portland International Jetport yesterday 11/10/21 (photograph taken by CTFWP member and generously shared)

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