Verrill Partner Jim Cohen recently participated in a televised debate regarding a November, 2023 ballot question proposing to form a Maine state authority called “Pine Tree Power” that would be required to take over the assets of Maine’s two largest electric utilities, CMP and Versant Power. The debate was held at the Kittery, Maine community center and featured groups supporting and opposing the ballot question. Jim Cohen participated as a representative of the Maine Affordable Energy Coalition, which opposes the ballot question. During the nearly two-hour debate, Cohen noted: “We are not starting from scratch. The starting point is we have to take somebody else’s assets-that costs money and puts us very far behind.”

To view this debate, please click the link here. Please note, video coverage of the event does not begin until 00:31:05, Jim Cohen's remarks begin at 1:05:20.