Poor Maine, Controlled by Larger Progressive States That Control a Regional Electricity Market

All the USA electricity maps show the same thing. California and all of New England have the highest electricity prices in the nation.
California operates under a separate quasi governmental network. New England operates under an independent system operator that services all 6 New England States. 
Politicians throughout New England making laws they believe will replace natural gas plants with wind, solar and batteries have taken advantage of this six state collaboration. to intertwine and overlap green energy policies. All six states are enrolled in RGGI, a program designed to cut greenhouse emissions by making plants that emit carbon dioxide during electricity production purchase carbon dioxide allowances. The allowances are sold at an annual, limited amount and the number of allowances sold are reduced every year. The emitting plants are forced to compete for these allowances by participating in auctions every three months. These allowance costs become part of the emitting plant's production costs,  passed on to New England electricity customers.  General economic rule states as supply decreases, prices increase. 
Every New England state has natural gas plants generating electricity that becomes part of the generation mix. Connecticut has the most (52), Massachusetts has 43.Vermont has the fewest (0). Maine has 5. 
Because it is part of production costs for natural gas plants, carbon dioxide allowances become part of the supply price on your electric bills. 
The money received from sold carbon dioxide allowances is transferred back to each New England state based on the production percentage of each state's total natural gas plant production. Connecticut, with the most plants, receives the most allowance money.
Where does this money go once received by the states? It does not go back to the ratepayers. In Maine, it goes to Efficiency Maine Trust, Is it a lot of money?  For Maine, it was $21,203,735.00 from the quarterly auction occurring in June 2026, auction number 72. 
Now, let's focus our attention back to how carbon dioxide allowances go from production costs to the supply price on the monthly electric bill.   
When climate change progressives tell you that natural gas prices drive the cost of electricity, they fail to tell you about the 
cost associated with carbon dioxide allowances. These costs can add 30%  to the supply price. They also do not tell you that for the past 4 months, monthly natural gas prices have, year over year, been lower this year compared to corresponding months in 2025. At the same time, electricity production costs have gone up every month. 
Now, what happens if Maine was to stop participating in the program that charges natural gas plants for carbon dioxide emissions? Would our electricity prices go down? Well, Maine natural gas plants may not have to buy allowances which could help them compete with other New England natural gas plants on price. But Maine has only 5 plants. Connecticut has 52 and Massachusetts has 43. Electricity supply prices are set regionally as opposed to each individual state. Maine's supply prices would be influenced by the other states that have gas plants still purchasing allowances and, by the sheer numbers that favor the states that consume the most electricity, Maine consumers would see very little change, if any. Of course Efficiency Maine Trust would lobby against Maine's exit from the program, aka RGGI. 
This is just one program crossing state lines that has an impact on Maine's electricity prices whether Maine participates in the program or does not participate.  Renewable Energy Credits(RECs), a program that rewards renewable energy with ratepayer money, is also regional.  Massachusetts renewable plants can sell RECs to Maine and vice versa. This is common to all New England States. Again the biggest states control the market. If maie was to repeal it's REC program, other New England States would, as they do now, put pressure on Maine to develop renewable projects to produce RECs to comply with their green energy programs. Maine people who are already exhausted with the growing number of wind, solar and battery projects would not get any relief. Net Energy Billing and the fact that Maine renewable developers could still sell their RECs to other states would maintain or even increase the rate of projects peppering the state. 

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U.S. Sen Angus King

THE UNTOLD STORY OF RECORD HILL WIND

The Untold Story of Record Hill Wind, continued

 

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

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(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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