Many Maine households are struggling to pay electric bills according to findings in a new state report.
About 100,000 low-income Maine customers spend 8% of their income on electricity, twice the proportion considered affordable, according to the Electric Ratepayer Advisory Council. The council was established in 2021 and this is its third annual report.
The difference between the cost of electricity and what low income households can pay, or affordability gap, is about $85 million a year.
With electric prices expected to increase, Maine Public Advocate Bill Harwood said more assistance is needed.
"I believe that policy makers and legislators in Augusta do care about affordability and making sure that a necessity like electricity is affordable to those who are least advantaged," Harwood said.
The report recommends dedicating Maine’s $15 million in electric sales tax a year to financial support as one way to ease strain on households.
That would double the amount set aside for the Low Income Assistance Program that supports discounted electric rates, Harwood said.
The council also recommends further investigating Maine's competitive electricity provider market in an effort to lower prices.
Disproportionately high power bills paid by low income Maine households may be driven by overcharging by those companies, according to the report.
Competitive providers charge their own prices for power delivery, unlike utilities such as Central Maine Power and Versant Power. Utilities' prices are regulated by the state under an annual standard offer rate.
Over the last seven years, customers that chose competitive suppliers paid in total $135 million more than if they had selected the regulated price, according to the council.
Electricity Maine, one of the biggest competitive companies, was recently ordered to refund $6 million to customers it allegedly overcharged.
Harwood said the council's report demonstrates that low-income customers are more likely to use competitive suppliers.
"That's just a tragedy, because it shouldn't be allowed to happen. It is taking advantage of those who are most vulnerable," Harwood said.
The report recommends giving the Office of Public Advocate access to utility data on competitive providers so it can further examine the market.
