Maine:Electricity rate likely to increase

bangordailynews.com ^ | 12-14-04

[SheLion]

Poor Seniors. Social Security increase about $23 dollars a month more, but along comes an increase in electric........which will pull out about $16 dollars of that SS increase.

[SheLion]

Maine Gag Ping!

[xtinct]

Who cares? It's a blue state problem. Everything costs more in the blue states.

[mainepatsfan]

So no more commercials about how the cost of electiricity has gone down?

[SheLion]

Who cares? It's a blue state problem. Everything costs more in the blue states.

Yes. Well, we aren't ALL blue in this state!

[BillyCrockett]

Yes sir... you folks who own businesses... be sure to consider Maine as a great place to do business... highest taxes per capita than the rest of the country and now you can pay 50% more for your electricity too... doesn't THAT sound great?

[SheLion]

So no more commercials about how the cost of electiricity has gone down?

Got to laugh to keep from crying.

[Nataku X]

I'm a dumb illiterate red-state hick. Did Maine deregulate electricity, or what?

[kittymyrib]

Put up those wind-generators along the Maine coast for all that clean, eco-friendly electricity. No need to buy those nasty, expensive fossil fuels...

[trebb]

A 50% increase will only take the average homeowner to $48.00/month? Down in S. Mississippi, a $60.00 bill means we were in one of the 2 cool monthas a year where neither the heat or the A/C had to run. I average $90.00/month for a 2-person household.

[SheLion]

Yes sir... you folks who own businesses... be sure to consider Maine as a great place to do business... highest taxes per capita than the rest of the country and now you can pay 50% more for your electricity too... doesn't THAT sound great??

I'm quite settled and dug in so moving out of Maine is out of the question for me.

But if anyone outside of Maine is considering moving here and/or opening a business, they better do a lot of research.

The Lib side of the state house has a strangle hold on this state and they say "After me, you come first."

Maine government has turned our beautiful snow a virtual brown.

Gov Baldacci - D

[mainepatsfan]

I'm sure Baldacci will get right on top of this. Ha-ha-ha-ha!!

[bmwcyle]

Blue States will never learn.

[SheLion]

I'm a dumb illiterate red-state hick. Did Maine deregulate electricity, or what?

Maine government took a gamble and they (WE) lost!

Five years ago, the originators of electric restructuring believed that by now power suppliers would be clambering over one another on price to sell electricity to residences and businesses. The competition to sign up residential users didn't come, however, because many power suppliers believed they couldn't sell enough electricity in Maine to justify the cost of setting up shop here.

Today's vote not only represents a milestone in the history of a restructured electricity market but also starts a discussion on whether Maine residents would have been better off if the market hadn't been dismantled at all.

On March 1, 2000, the state's two major power companies officially changed forever. Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. and Central Maine Power Co. were ordered to sell their power-generation systems but remain standing as regulated transmission companies. 

[Severa]

Damn am I glad we moved into NAS Brunswick base housing. Getting settled in, got cable and Net service set up yesterday. Kids started school this week and doing well. Life is good right now.

[SheLion]

Damn am I glad we moved into NAS Brunswick base housing. Getting settled in, got cable and Net service set up yesterday. Kids started school this week and doing well. Life is good right now.

That's great!

We always lived in base housing as much as we could. I always enjoyed moving into a new place.

Best of luck to you!!

[tj_2004]

7.5 cents kwh is a bargain. Try Western New York where the rate is 16 cents kwh.

[SheLion]

7.5 cents kwh is a bargain. Try Western New York where the rate is 16 cents kwh.

Well, New Yorkers make more money, too. You can't compare wages in Maine to New York.

[Iris7]

Those electrical supply prices you complain about are about normal with the current natural gas prices. The previous price of five cents per kilowatt hour is too low to buy the natural gas to fuel the turbines, much less do any maintenance or pay salaries during the last eighteen months.

The seven and a half cent rate is also too low to cover expenses when burning natural gas at present prices.

The utilities must be borrowing to cover operating expenses during the recent period of very low interest rates. Borrowing has likely exceeded revenue from electricity sales, and will have to be paid off with higher rates down the road.

Wintertime electricity when the peaking plants, that are natural gas or oil fired, are not in service, electricity costs $0.07 per kilowatt hour around here. This number would be much worse except for a nuclear plant that supplies 70% of our power.

[SheLion]

Wintertime electricity when the peaking plants, that are natural gas or oil fired, are not in service, electricity costs $0.07 per kilowatt hour around here. This number would be much worse except for a nuclear plant that supplies 70% of our power.

Southern Maine has a nuclear power plant, but they closed it. At least, last I heard it was closed.