Maine households and enterprise are being rocked and socked by hovering electrical energy provide costs that jumped greater than 80 % starting in January. On the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, we’re listening to from our members who’re seeing their payments at dwelling and work double and, in some circumstances, even triple.
Electrical energy provide is the quantity we use every month. For many Versant and Central Maine Energy clients, provide costs are set by the Maine Public Utilities Fee. Versant and CMP don’t provide electrical energy – they will solely ship it.
“Sadly, sharp will increase in pure fuel costs are leading to increased electrical energy provide prices,” in accordance with PUC Chairman Philip Bartlett. One of many causes for these “sharp will increase” in pure fuel is that, to paraphrase an outdated Maine saying, you’ll be able to’t get it right here from there. Let me clarify.
Throughout New England and in our state, pure fuel is used to generate our electrical energy, warmth our properties and places of work and gas our manufacturing. The area’s demand for pure fuel is robust, but provides are scarce.
It’s a man-made shortage pushed by a scarcity of pipeline capability, not a scarcity of provide. There’s loads of pure fuel to be discovered within the Northeast. It’s as shut as Pennsylvania.
We simply can’t get it from there to right here. Entry to home pure fuel provides is severely restricted by bottlenecks within the pipeline transmission system that restrict how a lot we are able to transfer into New England, particularly when it’s wanted essentially the most, like throughout chilly snaps.
That’s forcing the area – and all of us – to depend on imported liquefied pure fuel to keep up the system’s stability. Proper now, we’re utilizing LNG from abroad for warmth and energy.
Sen. Angus King highlighted the area’s lack of pipeline capability throughout a latest affirmation listening to for the nominee for assistant secretary of power within the Workplace of Electrical energy on the U.S. Division of Vitality. He defined the issue “just isn’t fuel provide, it’s pipelines” and requested how we “provide power at an affordable worth and a dependable foundation … if we don’t permit further pipeline capability to be developed.”
Sen. King additionally identified a priority that’s raised throughout actually chilly winters. There are occasions when pipelines are so constrained that the regional electrical grid operator should name on different fuels to provide electrical energy. Because the senator mentioned, “If we don’t have sufficient pure fuel, and we’re burning coal to make up the distinction, that’s an environmental catastrophe.”
There’s a resolution to this dilemma – develop pipeline capability within the area. It’s a problem we have to handle now. Tasks like this take a number of years to be completely reviewed by federal and state businesses, plus a 12 months or two to be constructed.
Maine companies are dedicated to discovering methods to shrink our carbon footprint, and we help the objectives aimed toward reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. The Maine State Chamber has been a proud and supportive member of the Maine Local weather Council. We’re additionally real looking about how lengthy it can take to finish the transition to a completely renewable economic system.
Till we’re at that time, it’s crucial we now have a gradual provide of pure fuel coming into the area to average electrical energy provide prices, preserve properties and workplaces heat, energy industries and, importantly, help renewables. In any other case, we’ll preserve getting rocked and socked.
Data and assets to help ratepayers could also be discovered on the PUC web site’s dwelling web page at Fearful about Vitality Payments?
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