Calgarians continue to be the proud owners of a Maine-based power company accused of cranking up rates and disconnecting customers unable to pay skyrocketing power bills.That’s because voters in the Pine Tree State on Wednesday rejected a proposal to dismantle Versant Power, which Calgary’s city owned utility Enmax acquired in 2020 for $1.8 billion.The proposal to fold the state’s two largest privately owned power companies that distribute 97% of Maine’s electricity into a non-profit utility called Pine Tree Power was part of a series of ballot measures coinciding with state and local elections..With 68% of the vote counted, about 71% of ratepayers voted to keep the status quo, fearing up to USD$13 billion in additional costs and law suits — presumably from the likes of Enmax — along with higher rates.At the same time, however, they voted to ban foreign lobbying and spending in local elections by an 86% margin.That, after the Maine Ethics Commission reported a lobby group called Maine Energy Progress was funded by Enmax to the tune of $15 million to sway the outcome of the vote.In a separate campaign, Hydro-Québec dumped $22 million in a failed attempt to stop a 2021 referendum aimed at halting a cross border transmission line that stood to net La Belle’s public utility a cool $10 billion.Under US federal law, foreign governments and lobbying groups are prohibited from spending money to influence referendums and elections, although no such ban exists at the state level. Maine becomes just the 10th state to enact one..“These utilities put $40 million into scaring Maine voters and it took $40 million for them to get the outcome they wanted tonight,”Campaigner Lucy Hochschartner.Proponents of Question 3 complained they were outspent 37:1 by the likes of Enmax and Hydro-Québec to maintain a status quo they say has resulted in one of the worst power grids in the Lower 48, characterized by frequent outages, skyrocketing rates for consumers and tens of thousands of disconnection notices.Campaigner Lucy Hochschartner called it a “cruel” result.“These utilities put $40 million into scaring Maine voters and it took $40 million for them to get the outcome they wanted tonight,” she told the Portland Press Herald. “It was always about serving their foreign shareholders, rather than Mainers, rather than their own customers. Not a single time in this campaign did CMP or Versant show up themselves to provide solutions or debate us or anything to show they care about their customers. That’s not their job and it never will be. I hope we see better from them but the system is fundamentally broken,” she said..“(Enmax) made that investment in the interest of growing the company and providing a better return to its shareholder, which is us”Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.Back in Calgary, Enmax CEO Mark Poweska thanked Maine voters for the result.“Customers are at the centre of everything we do — here in Calgary and in Maine. As a stand-alone subsidiary of Enmax, Versant Power will continue to focus on providing safe, reliable service to customers, and the health and safety of their 500-plus team members,” he said in a statement.In July, when Enmax’s Maine spending came to light, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek defended Enmax’s right to lobby on behalf of city ratepayers.“Enmax made an investment in Versant Power and they made that investment in the interest of growing the company and providing a better return to its shareholder, which is us,” Gondek said. “So trying to protect that investment is what they’re pursuing right now.”
Calgarians continue to be the proud owners of a Maine-based power company accused of cranking up rates and disconnecting customers unable to pay skyrocketing power bills.That’s because voters in the Pine Tree State on Wednesday rejected a proposal to dismantle Versant Power, which Calgary’s city owned utility Enmax acquired in 2020 for $1.8 billion.The proposal to fold the state’s two largest privately owned power companies that distribute 97% of Maine’s electricity into a non-profit utility called Pine Tree Power was part of a series of ballot measures coinciding with state and local elections..With 68% of the vote counted, about 71% of ratepayers voted to keep the status quo, fearing up to USD$13 billion in additional costs and law suits — presumably from the likes of Enmax — along with higher rates.At the same time, however, they voted to ban foreign lobbying and spending in local elections by an 86% margin.That, after the Maine Ethics Commission reported a lobby group called Maine Energy Progress was funded by Enmax to the tune of $15 million to sway the outcome of the vote.In a separate campaign, Hydro-Québec dumped $22 million in a failed attempt to stop a 2021 referendum aimed at halting a cross border transmission line that stood to net La Belle’s public utility a cool $10 billion.Under US federal law, foreign governments and lobbying groups are prohibited from spending money to influence referendums and elections, although no such ban exists at the state level. Maine becomes just the 10th state to enact one..“These utilities put $40 million into scaring Maine voters and it took $40 million for them to get the outcome they wanted tonight,”Campaigner Lucy Hochschartner.Proponents of Question 3 complained they were outspent 37:1 by the likes of Enmax and Hydro-Québec to maintain a status quo they say has resulted in one of the worst power grids in the Lower 48, characterized by frequent outages, skyrocketing rates for consumers and tens of thousands of disconnection notices.Campaigner Lucy Hochschartner called it a “cruel” result.“These utilities put $40 million into scaring Maine voters and it took $40 million for them to get the outcome they wanted tonight,” she told the Portland Press Herald. “It was always about serving their foreign shareholders, rather than Mainers, rather than their own customers. Not a single time in this campaign did CMP or Versant show up themselves to provide solutions or debate us or anything to show they care about their customers. That’s not their job and it never will be. I hope we see better from them but the system is fundamentally broken,” she said..“(Enmax) made that investment in the interest of growing the company and providing a better return to its shareholder, which is us”Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.Back in Calgary, Enmax CEO Mark Poweska thanked Maine voters for the result.“Customers are at the centre of everything we do — here in Calgary and in Maine. As a stand-alone subsidiary of Enmax, Versant Power will continue to focus on providing safe, reliable service to customers, and the health and safety of their 500-plus team members,” he said in a statement.In July, when Enmax’s Maine spending came to light, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek defended Enmax’s right to lobby on behalf of city ratepayers.“Enmax made an investment in Versant Power and they made that investment in the interest of growing the company and providing a better return to its shareholder, which is us,” Gondek said. “So trying to protect that investment is what they’re pursuing right now.”
