Maine Question 3, Pine Tree Power Company Initiative (2023)

Maine Question 3
Election date November 7, 2023
Topic Administration of government and Energy
Status d Defeated
Type State statute	Origin Citizens

Maine Question 3, the Pine Tree Power Company Initiative, was on the ballot in Maine as an indirect initiated state statute on November 7, 2023. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported creating the Pine Tree Power Company, an electric transmission and distribution utility governed by an elected board, and would allow the company to purchase and acquire all investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities in Maine.

A "no" vote opposed creating the Pine Tree Power Company.

Election results

Maine Question 3
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		122,961	30.26%
No		283,401	69.74%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would this initiative have changed about electric utilities in Maine?

See also: Measure design

The ballot initiative was designed to create a quasi-municipal electric utility called the Pine Tree Power Company. As of 2023, 80% of Maine's residents were serviced by Central Maine Power (CMP), while 16.4% of Maine residents were serviced by Versant, two investor-owned utilities.

This initiative would have allowed for the Pine Tree Power Company to purchase and acquire all investor-owned electric utilities in Maine, which included CMP and Versant. Under the measure, the Pine Tree Power Company would have had all the powers and duties of an electric utility company and would have been expected to deliver electricity to the company's customer-owners. The measure would have established the Pine Tree Power Board, which would have consisted of 13 members — seven of the members would have been elected to represent the state senate districts (each would have represented five of the state's 35 state senate districts), and six members would have been designated expert members.

What was the history behind this initiative?

See also: Background

The first proposal to create the Pine Tree Power Company was introduced to the Maine House of Representatives by State Rep. Seth Berry (D-55) in 2021. The House approved the legislation on June 17, 2021, but the Maine State Senate rejected it on June 18. The House then passed an amended version of the legislation on June 30, and the Senate approved the amended version on the same day. Gov. Janet Mills (D) vetoed the legislation on July 13, 2021. She said, "LD 1708 (was) hastily drafted and hastily amended several times. In recent weeks without robust public participation, seems to be a patchwork of political promises rather than a methodical reformation of Maine's complicated electricity transmission and distribution systems."

On October 22, 2021, a citizen initiative that would create the Pine Tree Power Company was approved for signature gathering. The initiative was allowed to circulate until April 22, 2023. On October 31, 2022, the Our Power campaign, the committee registered to support the measure, submitted more than 80,000 signatures to the secretary of state. The secretary of state confirmed that the Our Power campaign submitted 69,735 valid signatures on November 30, 2022, and certified the measure to the state legislature. The legislature referred the measure to voters on May 5, 2023.

Prior to the proposal to create the Pine Tree Power Company, in 2018, various Massachusetts utility companies signed an agreement with CMP to build a 145-mile high-voltage transmission line, known as New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) that would bring hydroelectric power from Quebec, in Canada, to Massachusetts. However, in 2021, Maine residents voted 59.2% to 40.8% to approve Question 1, an initiated state statute which prohibited the construction of the NECEC. Question 1 was the most expensive ballot measure in Maine's history, with $27.9 million raised in support of the initiative and $71.9 million raised in opposition to the initiative. After Question 1 passed in 2021, NECEC Transmission, LLC and Avangrid filed a lawsuit to overturn it. On April 20, 2023, a jury decided in a 9-0 unanimous verdict that the construction of the NECEC could resume.

Who supported and opposed the initiative?

See also: Support and opposition

The Our Power committee was the PAC registered in support of the initiative. As of October 24, 2023, the campaign reported $1.2 million in cash and in-kind contributions and $1.16 million in expenditures. Top donors included 128 Collective, Susan Bartovics, Preston-Werner Initiatives Inc, the Green Advocacy Project, Gary Friedmann, and Helen Norton.

Former State Rep. John Brautigam, president of Our Power Board, said, "Mainers are tired of seeing their rates go just up to fatten the wallets of stockholders who couldn’t find Maine on a map. After a year of connecting with Maine people and collecting signatures from almost every town in the state, we are proud to offer a brighter future for our state’s electric grid and cheaper power for Maine ratepayers."

The Maine Affordable Energy committee and the Maine Energy Progress were the PACs registered in opposition to the initiative. As of October 24, 2023, the committees collectively reported $39.9 million in cash and in-kind contributions and $37.6 million in expenditures. Top donors included Avangrid Management Company, Enmax, Clean Energy Matters, Versant Power, and Central Maine Power Company.

The Maine Affordable Energy Coalition said that the creation of the utility that would replace investor-owned utilities would be costly. The committee said, "A scheme to seize Maine’s electric grid by eminent domain would create a government-controlled utility — and we would all be on the hook for the cost. The debt that comes with taking over the utilities – an estimated $13.5 billion – is three times the entire state budget. And that’s a debt it would take decades to pay off through our electric bills."

Measure design

Click on the arrows (▼) below for summaries of the different provisions of the initiative.

Pine Tree Power Company: Establishes the Pine Tree Power Company

The measure would have created the Pine Tree Power Company, a quasi-municipal electric transmission and distribution utility. The company would have provided for electric transmission and distribution services for its customer-owners.

The Pine Tree Power company would have used its access to low-cost capital and an ability to be managed in a manner that is not focused on ensuring shareholder profits. The measure also included a provision that the Pine Tree Power Company would have delivered electricity safely, affordably, and reliably to customers, assisted Maine in meeting and exceeding climate action goals, improved Maine’s internet connectivity through more affordable access to unserved or underserved parts of the state, advanced economic, environmental and social justice and to benefit company workers and state communities, and provided transparent and accountable governance, and to support Maine’s economic growth.

Under this measure, the Pine Tree Power Company would have been subjected to taxation and would have had to pay property tax in the same manner as an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility. Income from the company would have been exempt from all taxation. The Pine Tree Power Company would not have been able to be dissolved or ceasing operation unless by authorization of law.

Pine Tree Power Company Board: Establishes the Pine Tree Power Company Board

The measure would have established the Pine Tree Power Company Board. Under this measure, the board would be composed of 13 members. Seven of the members would have been elected to represent five state senate districts, and six members would have been designated expert members. The six designated expert members must have been elected by the elected members, and collectively possessed experience in utility law and management, concerns of utility employees and workers, concerns of commercial or industrial electricity consumers, technologies related to electricity, cybersecurity, and connectivity, climate mitigation and planning, and economic or social justice needs for low income or moderate income populations. All members would have had to been Maine residents.

The term for both an elected member of the board as well as a designated member of the board would have been six years.

The board would have had to contract a nongovernmental team to operate facilities, and the operations team would be required to retain all workers of the purchased utilities. The company would have been subjected to ratemaking and other oversight by the Public Utilities Commission.

Powers and duties: Establishes the power and duties of the Pine Tree Power Company

Under this measure, the Pine Tree Power Company would have all the powers and duties of a transmission and distribution utility company.

The company would not have been able to own or operate a generating source or purchase electric capacity or energy from a generating source, except as the Public Utilities Commission may have approved in order to allow the company to maintain or improve system reliability.

The company would have had to hire at least one nongovernmental entity to provide private sector operations. This entity would not have been able to have been found unfit in the previous ten years.

Any qualified, nonexempt employee who worked for an acquired utility company would have had to be hired for the Pine Tree Power Company. The operations team would have had to offer these employees a retention bonus of 8% of annual gross pay for the first year of work and 6% of annual gross pay for the second year of work. The employees of the company’s operations team would have had to be private employees, but they would have had the same rights as they would when working for an investor owned transmission and distribution utility, including the right to engage in a strike, retirement benefits, and honor any collective bargaining agreements in effect at the time the utility company is acquired.

The initiative would have allowed the Pine Tree Power Company to purchase and acquire, by right of eminent domain, all utility facilities in Maine owned or operated by any investor-owned transmission and distribution utility. The purchase or acquisition of these facilities would not have been able to happen until 12 months after the effective date of this provision, or six months after the first meeting of the board, whichever is later.

The Pine Tree Power Company would have had to identify utility facilities and property in Maine that are investor-owned, determine a price offer, and deliver notice of the purchase price offer to the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility that owns, operates or holds for future use the subject utility facilities and utility property. This would have had to occur within 18 months after the effective date of this chapter or 12 months after the first meeting of the board, whichever is later, unless further delayed to a date certain by a vote of at least 9 members of the board. After receipt of the notice, the investor-owned company would have been able to, within 30 days, submit a counteroffer to the company. Under this measure, if the company rejected the counteroffer, the investor-owned utility may have been allowed to petition the Superior Court of Kennebec County to determine and order an alternative purchase price.

Under this measure, all existing agreements and contracts must be transferred from the investor-owned utility to the company.

Fitness to serve: Establishes the criteria for utilities serving over 50,000 customers

Under the measure, the Public Utilities Commission would determine that a transmission and distribution utility, which served more than 50,000 customers, would be considered "unfit" to operate if four or more of the following conditions were met:

• The utility has consistently received low ratings for customer satisfaction in a nationally recognized survey of United States utility customers, compared to similar-sized utilities, for at least two out of the past five years.
• The Public Utilities Commission or the United States Energy Information Administration has found that the utility's reliability, measured by the number of outage minutes per year, ranks among the lowest compared to similar-sized utilities in the country, for at least two out of the past five years.
• The utility has consistently charged residential utility rates that are estimated to be among the highest compared to similar-sized utilities in the country, for at least two out of the past five years.
• Within the previous year, the utility has outsourced work valued at over $100,000 that could have reasonably been performed by qualified, nonexempt employees of the utility.
• The utility owns critical infrastructure that is crucial for the security and well-being of Maine, and is currently owned, either fully or partially (greater than 5%), by a foreign government.
• The utility requires customers to cover the costs of the utility's corporate taxes and shareholder profits exceeding 10% on reasonable capital investments in transmission infrastructure, without taking on much risk for poor performance.
• The utility requires customers to directly or indirectly pay for 90% or more of the damages to the utility's assets caused by extreme weather events. Additionally, the utility may be denied access to federal emergency management assistance to mitigate or eliminate these costs.
• The utility fails to prioritize the needs of customers, workers, or Maine's climate and connectivity goals over the profit-seeking desires of shareholders.

If the utility was found to be unfit to serve based on these criteria, the measure would have mandated the sale of the utility.

State funds or tax dollars: Requires no use of state funds or tax dollars

The initiative would have provided that the company would not be permitted to use general obligation bonds or state tax dollars, and would have been financed by issuing debt against its future revenues to purchase facilities of electric transmission and distribution utilities that are owned by investors in the state.

Annual report: Establishes an annual report

By April 15 of each year, the Pine Tree Power Company would have had to submit a report that summarizes its activities and performance to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy and utilities matters. Under this measure, each annual report must discuss the company’s operations and how it impacts the state’s climate goals.

Review of laws: Provides for Public Utilities Commission to review existing laws

The Public Utilities Commission would have had to review any laws that may have been impacted by the establishment of this measure, and which ones may have needed to be changed as a result. The commission would then have determined this within the first six months of the first meeting of the Pine Tree Power Company Board.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

QUESTION 3: An Act to Create the Pine Tree Power Company, a Nonprofit, Customer-owned Utility. Do you want to create a new power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine?

”

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:

“

This initiated bill creates the Pine Tree Power Company, a privately operated, nonprofit, consumer-owned utility controlled by a board the majority of the members of which are elected. The company's purposes are to provide for its customer-owners in this State reliable, affordable electric transmission and distribution services and to help the State meet its climate, energy and connectivity goals in the most rapid and affordable manner possible. The Pine Tree Power Company is not permitted to use general obligation bonds or tax dollars of the State. The company finances itself by issuing debt against its future revenues to purchase the facilities of investor-owned electric transmission and distribution utilities in the State. The fair market value of the acquisition is either negotiated or determined by a refereed process. The Pine Tree Power Company Board contracts a nongovernmental team to operate the facilities, and the operations team is required to retain all workers of the purchased utilities. The company is subject to property taxation and must pay property tax in the same manner as an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility. The company is subject to ratemaking and other oversight by the Public Utilities Commission and is required to administer programs for net energy billing, nonwires alternatives, supply procurement and low-income assistance programs. The company is governed by a board of 13 members, 7 of whom are each elected to represent State Senate districts, as well as 6 designated expert members. The board is subject to freedom of access laws and to laws preventing conflicts of interest. The initiated bill also directs the Public Utilities Commission beginning January 1, 2025 to find a transmission and distribution utility unfit to serve and to direct the sale of the utility if the utility meets certain criteria.

”

Fiscal impact statement

The official fiscal impact statement was as follows:

“

This citizen initiative creates the Pine Tree Power Company (PTPC), a privately operated, nonprofit, consumer-owned transmission and distribution utility. It establishes a process for the PTPC to purchase the assets of an investor-owned electric transmission and distribution facility operating in the State. The PTPC will be subject to oversite by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) as a consumer-owned utility. It is important to clarify that this fiscal impact statement does not attempt to quantify or include the cost to the PTPC to purchase and operate a decertified utility. The purchase is anticipated to be financed through the issuance of bonds and the debt service costs of those bonds and the costs of operation will be funded through utility rates charged to the consumers. The PUC has indicated that its additional regulatory authority will require 3 Staff Attorney positions and 6 Utility Analyst positions at a projected cost of $1,294,169 in the first year and $2,275,349 in subsequent years. Since the PUC is funded by an assessment set to produce sufficient revenue for the expenditures allocated by the Legislature for operating the PUC, the increased expenditures will require a corresponding increase in revenue from assessments on transmission and distribution utilities. These costs may be passed on to electric utility customers through scheduled rate cases in the future. The initiative also requires that no earlier than January 1, 2025, the PUC shall decertify investor-owned electric transmission and distribution utilities operating in the State that fail to meet criteria established in this initiative. This action, combined with provisions designed to force the utilities subject to decertification to sell assets to the PTPC, may result in litigation. Any litigation costs may be passed on to consumers. The 7 elected members of a 13-person governing board may participate in the Maine Clean Elections program. The Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices estimates that up to 11 candidates may choose to use the program in the first election cycle after the PTPC is established for a cost to the Commission of $335,450 from April through June in the first fiscal year and $273,750 from July through October in the second fiscal year. Qualifying contributions from candidates are anticipated to generate additional revenue of $13,900 in the first year and $9,900 in the second fiscal year. Subsequent election cycles are estimated to require payments to candidates of $110,764 or $166,145, depending on whether 2 or 3 board members are being elected. Additional costs to any state agencies and departments that provide assistance and counsel to the board, and to the Office of the Attorney General to make recommendations regarding a code of ethics for members of the board, can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources and will not require additional funding. Since the PTPC will be exempt from income taxes, the State will see a decrease in General Fund revenue from the corporate income taxes that are currently being paid by the investor-owned utilities currently operating in the State. Confidentiality of tax records prevents disclosure of the amounts of tax paid by the existing utilities that will be decertified if this initiative is approved. However, some of this income tax revenue loss could be offset to the extent that the non-governmental entity contracted by the PTPC for certain operations has taxable income. The PTPC will still be subject to property taxes, so municipal property tax revenues are not expected to be significantly impacted unless there is a change in the location of facilities.

”

Full text

The full text of the ballot measure is below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2023

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 14, and the FRE is 34. The word count for the ballot title is 43.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 17, and the FRE is 23. The word count for the ballot summary is 291.

Support

Our Power Maine led the campaign in support of the initiative.

Supporters

Officials

• Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Independent)
• State Sen. Richard Bennett (R)
• State Sen. Nicole Grohoski (D)
• State Rep. Nathan Carlow (R)
• State Rep. Sophia Warren (D)

Former Officials

• State Rep. Seth Berry (D)

Unions

• Maine State Nurses Association

Organizations

• 350.org
• Bar Harbor Climate Emergency Task Force
• Institute for Local Self Reliance
• Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
• Maine People's Alliance
• Maine Public Power
• Maine Youth Action
• Maine Youth for Climate Justice
• Natural Resources Council of Maine
• Sierra Club

Arguments

• U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont): "This year, Mainers are facing price-gouging and immoral disconnection notices from multinational utility companies. Power belongs in the hands of the people, not greedy corporations. Fortunately, Mainers have a rare chance to take control of an important part of their daily lives. Instead of a private power system that last year sent $187 million in profits out of the country, Mainers can have cheaper, more reliable power—and help fight climate change at the same time."
• Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club: "Pine Tree Power’s campaign to replace CMP and Versant presents a historic opportunity for change in Maine that must be seized. For years, CMP and Versant have prioritized investor profits over consumer rates by blocking renewable energy projects meant to reduce pollution and lower energy bills. With Pine Tree Power, Mainers can establish a utility responsible to the public, not far-off investors. A win in Maine would allow for a quicker, more just expansion of the state’s electric grid, all while saving ratepayers billions of dollars and advancing the state’s commendable climate and economic justice goals."
• Our Power Maine: "This initiated bill creates the Pine Tree Power Company, a privately-operated, nonprofit, consumer-owned utility controlled by a board the majority of the members of which are elected. The company’s purposes are to provide for its customer-owners in this State reliable, affordable electric transmission and distribution services and to help the State meet its climate, energy and connectivity goals in the most rapid and affordable manner possible."
• State Sen. Richard Bennett (R-19): "This ownership model has been a disaster, draining money from Maine while leaving us with the most outages, the longest outages, the worst customer service, and among the highest rates in the country."
• Andrew Blunt, executive director of Our Power Maine: “Our utilities continue to make money hand over fist while everyday Maine people struggle to make ends meet. This type of profiteering is absolutely unconscionable in the midst of the inflation crisis that we’re in. And it makes more clear than ever the need for changing the business model."
• Natural Resources Council of Maine: "Where do we want to be in 10 years, 15 years? If question 3 fails, Maine likely will remain stuck in a similar place as we find ourselves today. Maine people will still be served by the same underperforming utilities, still ranking at the bottom in customer satisfaction nationwide, paying some of the highest electricity rates for some of the worst reliability in the country, with long lists of clean energy projects waiting to be connected to the grid, and groups like NRCM still endeavoring to use elaborate regulatory maneuvers to correct for the powerfully misaligned incentives of our investor-owned utilities."
• State Rep. Sophie Warren (D): "The two most common comments I hear in my community and as a member of Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology concern high rates and poor reliability. CMP and Versant have had more than enough time, money and resources to make meaningful improvements. Instead, they’ve profited at the expense of hardworking Mainers. As a legislator and as a Maine resident, I have seen the same pattern of behavior, mismanagement and poor priorities. The nonprofit model of consumer-owned utilities mean they qualify for different financing opportunities, different models of regulation, from lower-cost to tax-exempt debt, even publicly supported storm repairs. These utilities don’t pay profits to anybody, so their rates are lower than those of their investor-owned neighbors and their investment choices are not dependent on what will create the greatest profits on their investment."

Opposition

The Maine Affordable Energy Coalition led the campaign in opposition to the initiative.

Opponents

Officials

• Gov. Janet T. Mills (D)

Former Officials

• Frmr State Rep. Christopher Caiazzo (D)
• Frmr State Rep. Nathan Wadsworth (R)
• Frmr State Rep. Charlotte Warren (D)

Corporations

• Avangrid Inc.
• Central Maine Power Company
• ENMAX Energy Corporation
• Versant Power

Unions

• IBEW Local 567
• Maine AFL-CIO
• Maine Building Trades Council

Organizations

• Americans for Tax Reform
• Conservation Law Foundation
• Maine State Chamber of Commerce
• National Federation of Independent Business
• Portland Community Chamber of Commerce

Arguments

• Gov. Janet Mills: "I strongly believe that Maine consumers deserve high quality, reliable and competent service. ... [Question 3 is] a hostile take-over that will cost billions of dollars to Maine ratepayers and inject partisanship into the delivery of our power."
• Frmr. State Rep. Nathan Wadsworth and Frmr. State Rep. Charlotte Warren: "Seizing the state’s utilities would be enormously expensive – by some estimates, it would put us in debt by $13.5 billion. To put that in perspective, that’s about four times the annual state budget for a year. And where would that $13.5 billion come from? Everyone who uses electricity in Maine. Electric consumers would all be on the hook to pay off that debt through higher bills. In these days of rapidly rising costs, the last thing we need to do is tack this debt payment on to our utility bills."
• Frmr. State Rep. Christopher Caiazzo: "Before we roll the dice on the enormous costs and risks associated with Pine Tree Power, we should evaluate the outcomes of that planning process and decide if it will achieve our desired goals at a much lower price tag. Operating an electric grid and delivering electricity to our homes, businesses, schools and hospitals is complex and requires a tremendous amount of planning and technical expertise. Maintenance and investment of substations, distribution lines and transformers, and activities like tree trimming and outage restorations, are critical to the success of our electric grid. Mistakes can be costly — and dangerous. Just like a bank would want to see a business plan before approving a loan, or a contractor would want to see a plan before building a home, we should demand to see a plan before we make the choice to support or oppose Pine Tree Power. Unfortunately, that plan will not exist before November, leaving voters without the details of how Pine Tree Power would actually achieve its stated goals in a cost-effective manner, or if it can even achieve them at all."
• Maine Affordable Energy Coalition: "A scheme to seize Maine’s electric grid by eminent domain would create a government-controlled utility — and we would all be on the hook for the cost. The debt that comes with taking over the utilities – an estimated $13.5 billion – is three times the entire state budget. And that’s a debt it would take decades to pay off through our electric bills."
• Ben Waxman, co-owner of American Roots: "Seizing the utilities and creating an electric authority run by elected politicians is not a good deal for workers. It puts the hard-earned contracts that CMP and Versant workers have negotiated at risk and would lead to these workers losing some of their fundamental rights as union members."
• Mayors Jason Levesque (Auburn), Mark O’Brien (Augusta), Alan Casavant (Biddeford), Soubanh Phanthay (Brewer), Patricia Hart (Gardiner), Carl Sheline (Lewiston), William Doyle (Saco), Becky Brink (Sanford), and Michael Foley (Westbrook): "We are particularly worried about Pine Tree Power’s multi-billion-dollar price tag to take over the assets of CMP and Versant, which some estimate could exceed $13 billion. For the State to assume such a large debt and put Maine consumers on the hook for paying it, is concerning, and if approved by voters, will likely raise electric rates for Maine consumers for years to come."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Maine ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recently scheduled reports processed by Ballotpedia, which covered through October 24, 2023. The deadline for the next scheduled reports was December 19, 2023.

Our Power was the PAC registered to support this measure. The committee reported $1.2 million in cash and in-kind contributions, and $1.16 million in expenditures.

Maine Affordable Energy and Maine Energy Progress were the PACs registered to oppose this measure. The committees reported $39.9 million in cash and in-kind contributions, and $37.6 million in expenditures.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$1,076,553.40	$131,807.15	$1,208,360.55	$1,030,591.40	$1,162,398.55
Oppose	$39,547,420.00	$418,234.00	$39,965,654.00	$37,269,598.92	$37,687,832.92

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Question 3
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Our Power	$1,076,553.40	$131,807.15	$1,208,360.55	$1,030,591.40	$1,162,398.55
Total	$1,076,553.40	$131,807.15	$1,208,360.55	$1,030,591.40	$1,162,398.55

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
128 Collective	$150,000.00	$0.00	$150,000.00
Susan Bartovics	$116,750.00	$0.00	$116,750.00
Preston-Werner Initiatives Inc	$50,000.00	$0.00	$50,000.00
Helen Norton	$25,500.00	$0.00	$25,500.00
Gary Friedmann	$25,000.00	$0.00	$25,000.00
Green Advocacy Project	$25,000.00	$0.00	$25,000.00

Opposition

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in opposition to the initiative.

Committees in opposition to Question 3
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Maine Affordable Energy	$23,437,420.00	$271,549.08	$23,708,969.08	$23,074,281.06	$23,345,830.14
Maine Energy Progress	$16,110,000.00	$146,684.92	$16,256,684.92	$14,195,317.86	$14,342,002.78
Total	$39,547,420.00	$418,234.00	$39,965,654.00	$37,269,598.92	$37,687,832.92

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Avangrid Management Company	$24,130,400.00	$202,967.08	$24,333,367.08
Enmax	$15,910,000.00	$20,719.81	$15,930,719.81
Clean Energy Matters	$500,000.00	$0.00	$500,000.00
Versant Power	$200,000.00	$59,365.11	$259,365.11
Maine Affordable Energy	$0.00	$66,600.00	$66,600.00

Media editorials

See also: 2023 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

Ballotpedia did not locate media editorial boards in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

The following media editorial boards published an editorial opposing the ballot measure:

• BDN Editorial Board: All this uncertainty to create a new utility doesn’t make sense. We have long argued that CMP and Versant can – and should – be held to higher standards by the Public Utilities Commission. A new utility accountability law was an important move in this direction, but more can be done to require investments in customer service, reliability and improvements for renewable energy, and to try to minimize rate increases. That’s a much better way forward than an expensive utility takeover that is not likely to deliver on its many promises. That’s why we urge a no vote on Question 3.
• Portland Press Herald Editorial Board: "The documented failures of the utilities are not enough by themselves to warrant a “yes” vote on Question 3. A “yes” vote demands more assurances that no unforeseen problems would take the place of the problems we want to be rid of. There’s not enough evidence that Pine Tree Power would be an improvement on what we have now."

Polls

See also: 2023 ballot measure polls

Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Maine Question 3, Pine Tree Power Company Initiative (2023)
Poll	Dates	Sample size	Margin of error	Support	Oppose	Undecided

University of New Hampshire	10/19/23-10/23/23	2750 LV	± 3.5%	31%	56%	13%
	Question: "If the 2023 Maine Referendum Election were held today, how would you vote on the following ballot questions An Act to Create the Pine Tree Power Company ,a Nonprofit, Customer-owned Utility"
Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Background

Pine Tree Power Company legislation

On May 13, 2021, the Pine Tree Power Company Measure was introduced to the Maine House of Representatives by State Rep. Seth Berry (D-55). The legislation would have created the Pine Tree Power Company, an electric transmission and distribution utility. The Pine Tree Power Company would have replaced Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant, two electric companies that provided electricity to most of the state.

On June 17, 2021, the Maine House of Representatives approved LD 1708, but the Maine State Senate rejected LD 1708 by 17-18 on June 18. On June 30, the House voted 77-68 to approve an amended version of the bill. The Senate passed the revised legislation on June 30 by 18-14.

On July 13, 2021, Gov. Janet Mills (D) vetoed the measure. “LD 1708 (was) hastily drafted and hastily amended several times. In recent weeks without robust public participation, seems to be a patchwork of political promises rather than a methodical reformation of Maine's complicated electricity transmission and distribution systems,” Mills said in a press conference.

Electricity in Maine

As of 2023, the 96.4% of Maine's residents were serviced by CMP or Versant. In addition, Maine had nine consumer-owned utilities that served 97 towns. Both CMP and Versant were owned by investors, whereas the proposed Pine Tree Power Company would be consumer-owned.

As of July 1, 2023, CMP served 80% of Maine's residents, while Versant served 16.4% of Maine's residents. The nine consumer-owned utilities served 3.6% of Maine's residents.

Maine Question 1 (2021)

In 2018, various Massachusetts utility companies signed an agreement with CMP to build a 145-mile high-voltage transmission line, known as New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) that would bring hydroelectric power from Quebec, in Canada, to Massachusetts.

In 2021, Maine residents voted 59.2% to 40.8% to approve Question 1, an initiated state statute which prohibited the construction of the NECEC. Question 1 was the most expensive ballot measure in Maine’s history, with $27.9 million raised in support of the initiative and $71.9 million raised in opposition to the initiative. When Question 1 passed, NECEC Transmission, LLC and Avangrid filed a lawsuit to overturn it. On April 20, 2023, a jury decided in a 9-0 unanimous verdict that the construction of the NECEC could resume.

Public power utilities nationwide

According to the American Public Power Association, 10% of electricity generated in the United States comes from public power facilities, and that 40% of this electricity was generated from non-carbon emitting sources. The American Public Power Association also said that one in seven (14.2%) Americans are served by a public power utility, and that more than 2,000 communities in 49 states and five U.S. territories have a public power utility.

A 2017 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that 1,958 electric utilities were publicly owned, 812 were cooperatives, and 168 were investor owned. Investor-owned utilities are large electric distributors that issue stock owned by shareholders, while cooperatives are not-for-profit member-owned utilities, and publicly owned utilities are utilities that residents vote into existence that operate independently of city or country government. According to the 2017 report, 110 million customers were serviced by an investor owned electric utility, 20 million customers were serviced by a cooperative, and 24 million customers were serviced by a publicly owned utility.

Path to the ballot

Process in Maine

In Maine, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirect initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Petitions can be circulated for up to 18 months, but signatures must be no more than one year old to be valid. Signatures must be filed with the secretary by the 50th day of the first regular legislative session or the 25th day of the second regular session. Maine's initiative process is indirect, which means sufficient initiative petitions first go to the legislature and only go to the ballot if the legislature rejects or does not act on the initiative.

The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2023 ballot:

• Signatures: 63,067 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: January 26, 2023

Each petition signature is certified by the local registrar of voters. The signatures are then submitted to the secretary of state. If enough signatures are verified, the initiatives are sent to the legislature. If the legislature approves the initiative, it becomes law. If the legislature does not act on the initiative or rejects it, the initiative goes on the ballot. The legislature may submit "any amended form, substitute, or recommendation" to the people alongside the initiative; this alternative is treated as a competing measure.

Stages of this initiative

• Wayne R. Jortner filed the ballot initiative, which was approved for signature gathering on Oct. 22, 2021.
• The ballot initiative was allowed to circulate until April 22, 2023.
• On Jan. 19, 2022, the campaign behind the initiative, Our Power, announced that it was shifting its efforts from placing the initiative on the ballot in 2022 to 2023. Stephanie Clifford, Our Power’s campaign manager, said, "We’re in it for the long run and forging ahead until we get the job done. Every signature is valid for twelve months, and our ongoing efforts will soon give Mainers a choice."
• On Oct. 31, 2022, the Our Power campaign submitted more than 80,154 signatures from 422 Maine towns to the secretary of state.
• On Nov. 30, 2022, the secretary of state confirmed that the Our Power campaign submitted 69,735 valid signatures, and certified the measure to the legislature.
• The Cumberland County Superior Court ruled on March 9 that the secretary of state had to reword the ballot question due to the language potentially confusing voters. On May 4, 2023, the secretary of state announced new wording for the ballot question. The new ballot question was worded as: Do you want to create a new power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine?
• On May 5, 2023, the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee of the Maine State Legislature voted unanimously to send the proposal to the Nov. 2023 ballot.

Signature gathering cost

See also: Ballot measures cost per required signatures analysis

Sponsors of the measure hired Ballot Access Management to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $137,826.15 was spent to collect the 63,067 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $2.19.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Maine

Click "Show" to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Maine.

How to cast a vote in Maine

Poll times In Maine, municipalities with a population of 500 or more open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., while municipalities with a population of less than 500 open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. All polls close at 8:00 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Maine, one must be "a United States citizen, at least 16 years of age to pre-register to vote, and have established a fixed principal home in Maine. To vote in a Referendum or General Election, you must be registered in the community where you reside, and be at least 18 years of age. A 17 year old may vote in a Primary Election, if that person will be 18 by the General Election." Voters can return completed registration cards in person or by mail to their town office or city hall, any Motor Vehicle branch office, most state & federal social service agencies, or a voter registration drive. There is no deadline for voter registration if completed in person. If registering by mail, the deadline is 21 days prior to the election. When registering for the first time in Maine, voters must provide documents verifying their identity and residence. The following documents are acceptable identification for the purpose of registering to vote: Government ID with a photo (i.e. driver’s license, State ID, valid U.S. Passport, military ID, ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe) Government ID without photo (i.e. certified birth certificate or signed Social Security card) Other official document showing the name and address of voter (i.e. eligibility for public benefits, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck) Student photo ID from a state-approved public or private school or institute of higher education in Maine Maine driver’s license number or last four digits of Social Security Number Automatic registration On June 19, 2019, Gov. Janet Mills signed an automatic voter registration bill into law that was scheduled for implementation in 2022. The law registers voters through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Maine has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Governor Janet T. Mills (D) signed L.D. 126 into law on July 9, 2021, allowing online voter registration in Maine. This legislation went into effect on November 1, 2023. Same-day registration Maine allows same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in Maine, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Maine does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Voter ID requirements Maine does not require voters to present identification while voting. If a voter registers to vote on Election Day, he or she must provide identification and proof of residence.

See also

2023 measures

• 2023 ballot measures
• Energy on the ballot
• 2023 legislative sessions

Maine

• Maine ballot measures
• Maine ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls