Blog Posts: Environmental and Energy Law Update
Visit the Full BlogThe Environmental and Energy Law Update blog provides an analysis and discussion of the most critical and timely legal issues and announcements environmental, natural resource, and energy sectors.
Georgetown Broadband LLC Secures Utility Pole Attachment Authorization for Community Broadband Project
On February 17, 2023, Georgetown Broadband LLC (GBLLC) became the latest community broadband entity to receive pole attachment authorization from the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to deploy a fiber broadband network. GBLLC began its path to securing funding and local support for deployment of a high-speed broadband network...
Maine PUC Asked to Fix “Leapfrogging” Problem Triggered by 2022 Changes to Maine’s Generator Interconnection Rule
The Maine Public Utilities Commission is currently considering whether to commence a formal emergency rulemaking process to amend Chapter 324 of its rules governing generator interconnections. The purpose of the rulemaking would be to correct a growing problem whereby smaller “Level 2” interconnection projects are able to “leapfrog” larger...
Maine Public Utilities Commission to Receive Bids for Northern Maine Transmission and Renewable Generation Projects
On or before May 2, 2022, the Maine Public Utilities Commission has requested bids for proposed transmission and generation resources that would boost energy exports from northern Maine. The northern Maine region has long been viewed as having significant untapped potential renewable energy resources, including wind and wood biomass...
Maine PUC Releases Report on Evolution of Electrical Grid to Meet Climate Goals
On December 1, 2021, the Maine PUC released a Report on the first phase of its investigation into necessary design and operational changes to the electrical distribution grid to facilitate the State’s clean energy goals. In February of 2020, the PUC initiated this investigation in response to recent legislation...
Federal and State Funds to Support Maine Climate Action Plan’s Transportation and Broadband Goals
Last week, the Maine Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) and Office of Policy Innovation and the Future jointly presented to the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities, and Technology (EUT) Committee a report outlining a four-year funding plan for Maine’s climate action plan. As required by 38 M.R.S. § 576‑A, Maine’s climate action...
Maine Law Court Holds Citizen's Initiative Cannot Block CMP's NECEC Transmission Line
Yesterday, the Maine Law Court deemed unconstitutional a ballot initiative to overturn the Maine PUC’s approval of the transmission line known as the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC). The Court’s holding in Avangrid Networks, Inc. v. Sec’y of State , has potentially wide-ranging implications for Maine’s administrative and...
COVID-19 Alert: Massachusetts Closes “Non-essential” Businesses; Utility Services to Continue
The response to COVID-19 by states across the U.S. has continued to evolve rapidly. In Massachusetts, due to growing concerns over the spread of coronavirus, Governor Charlie Baker issued a “ shelter in place” order that went into effect March 24, 2020 at noon and runs until April 7...
Maine’s COVID-19 Response Impacts Utility Services and Other Business Activities
Like many states, Maine is quickly imposing a wide range of measures designed to protect the public in response to the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19. Almost daily, Maine Governor Janet Mills and other state agencies have announced new measures. On Sunday, March 15, Governor Mills issued a Proclamation...
Recent Maine Legislation Triggers Amendment to PUC Consumer Protection Rules
Last year, the Maine Legislature enacted three bills requiring amendments to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Rules in Ch. 815: Consumer Protection Standards for Electric and Gas Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Utilities . Last month, on February 5, 2020, the PUC issued an Order amending Ch. 815, effective February...
Maine PUC Issues Report Analyzing the Costs and Benefits of “Public Power” in Maine
Last week, the Maine PUC submitted to the Maine Legislature its Report , authored by London Economics International (LEI), on the costs and benefits of requiring the State of Maine to take over Central Maine Power and Emera Maine and hire a private contractor to operate Maine’s electric grid...
First Circuit Acts on Appeal by South Portland Pipeline Company
On January 10, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit acted on the Portland Pipe Line Corporation’s (PPLC) appeal of the district court order upholding a South Portland zoning ordinance that prohibits the bulk loading of crude oil onto marine vessels. Portland Pipe Line Corp. v...
Jim Cohen Addresses Maine Chamber Symposium About Risks of Public Power
On January 6, 2020, longtime Verrill partner and energy lawyer Jim Cohen appeared at a legislative symposium hosted by the Maine Chamber of Commerce and spoke on the topic, “ Creation of a State-Run Power Authority: Promises vs. Realities .” Cohen’s presentation outlined the substantial risks associated with Maine...
Maine Adopts Amended Net Energy Billing Rules, New Commercial NEB Tariff Rate
Recent legislation amending the net energy billing (NEB) rules to include a tariff rate program specifically for commercial customers and directing the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to procure distributed generation, has prompted a flurry of PUC rule changes in the past months. See P.L. 2019, ch. 478 (LD...
Beneficial Electrification and Natural Gas Bans in New Buildings, Affordable Sustainability
Transmission and distribution (T&D) utility customers have often been understood to care most about two things: reliability and cost—usually, but not necessarily in that order. Climate change and the public’s interest in mitigating it, have begun to change that conventional thinking. The ongoing beat of public climate change advocacy...
The 7th Annual Maine Natural Gas Conference
This past Thursday, October 3, 2019, representatives of regional natural gas distribution companies, energy regulators and attorneys, and renewable energy advocates gathered to discuss the current and future roles of natural gas in our energy industry. Topics ranged from gas-fired generation of electricity, potential future uses of natural gas...
Recent Maine Legislation Bolsters Solar, Distributed Generation
This past legislative session in Maine saw a flurry of renewable energy legislation, including two laws reforming and expanding the net energy billing (NEB) program. This blog briefly charts these two developments in the NEB program. P.L. 2019, ch. 16 (LD 91) ends annual, step-down of kWh credits for...
Dynamic Pricing Triggers EV Owners’ Load Shift to Early Morning Hours
Supplying electricity during peak demand, the period of highest customer demand for electricity (typically around 4 – 7 p.m.), increases the costs of supply – both for transmission and distribution utilities and customers. Dynamic pricing is one potential remedy to this economic challenge of electricity supply. A recent study...
Beneficial Electrification, A Potential Win-Win for T&D Utilities, Regulators, and Environmentalists
According to a Boston Consulting Group report released last week, transmission and distribution (T&D) utilities stand to gain significant value from aggressive investment in grid capacity that facilitates the transition to an electrified transportation sector. The report's estimated $3 to $10 billion in "new value for an average utility"...
Maine to Participate in Discussions on Amending Federal Regulations to Boost Offshore Wind
April 9, 2019 – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the Trump Administration's plans to propose "a series of regulatory changes later this year to boost offshore wind develop off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts." These changes could provide more welcome news to offshore wind developers on the...
The Latest: Governor Reported to Hire Burgess as Maine’s Energy Director
Reports are circulating that Governor Mills may have selected Dan Burgess as the Director of the Governor's Energy Office. Burgess is a native of Newport and University of Maine alum. Burgess has been at the forefront of several renewable energy initiatives over the past decade. He has most recently...
An Interview with ME PUC Chair, Commissioners, and Former Chair
Sourced from Steve Mitnick, Public Utilities Fortnightly , "A Day (Two Actually) at the Maine PUC" (January 2019). In this posting, I summarize a recent series of interviews with the current Maine PUC Chair, Commissioners, and Chair Emeritus, Tom Welch. The interviews appeared in the January 2019 edition of...
Net-metering News from Maine and California
On December 17, 2018, the Maine PUC exempted medium and large non-residential customer classes of CMP and Emera from compliance with the Commission's net energy billing provisions in Chapter 313, section 3(f), which require measurement of a customer's production of "nettable energy." The Commission enacted, effective for facilities in...
Pipeline Appeals Grant of Summary Judgment to South Portland Regarding Its Ban on Marine Loading of Crude Oil
Judge Woodcock of the U.S. District Court in Portland, finding that the South Portland's Clear Skies Ordinance (the Ordinance) was neither a "preempted pipeline facility safety standard or a discriminatory ordinance enacted for an economically protectionist purpose," granted summary judgment to the City on October 9, 2018. Last month...
