An advocacy group that pushed regulators to probe the private buyout of Central Maine Power Company’s corporate parent will get reimbursed $80,000 for their efforts.
It's the first such payment since recent changes to the Public Utilities Commission rules around intervenor compensation intended to remove barriers to participation in regulatory matters.
Seth Berry, executive director of Our Power, said the Public Utilities Commission order signals that more cash-strapped advocates can get involved in complicated utility cases going forward.
The rule changes made it easier for small groups like Our Power to argue their position, Berry said.
While the Office of the Maine Public Advocate represents consumer interest in PUC cases, it is under resourced, he added. Meanwhile, big companies and interests can dominate proceedings.
"It’s just very unbalanced and asymmetrical typically and this new intervenor compensation process really importantly levels the playing field and brings in more voices," Berry said.
Our Power was behind last year's failed referendum to replace Maine's two investor-owned electric utilities with a consumer owned power company.
This year it got involved in trying to get the PUC to review a proposed $2.5 billion buyout of CMP parent company Avangrid by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola.
The deal would let Iberdrola purchase the remaining 18% of Avangrid's publicly traded shares it doesn't own and take the company private. Opponents of the transaction said it would limit financial transparency, harm consumers and delay Maine's transition to renewable energy.
But commissioners declined to review the sale, arguing it had already approved Iberdrola's full control of Avangrid more than a decade ago.
But they still ordered the utilities to repay Our Power for hiring an attorney and expert witness to argue its position in the case.
Berry said that intervenor compensation has been around for a while, but the system was dysfunctional. Groups could get repaid, but only if they prevailed in the matter and often after engaging in expensive, drawn out cases, he added.
A 2022 law changed that system and made it easier for groups to qualify for compensation.
Organizations that want reimbursement still have show they have an unrepresented perspective, are likely to provide helpful information and cannot afford the full cost of their involvement.
But it allows more democracy in utility issues, Berry added.
"They opened the door to this new process where more voices can be at the table with the deep pockets, with the very powerful special interest groups," he said.
PUC spokesperson Susan Faloon said the commission has not seen an uptick in intervenor compensation since the changes.
A spokesperson for CMP did not respond to a request for comment.
