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Maine Regulators Considering Electric Vehicle Proposals

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The Maine Public Utilities Commission is considering a handful of proposals for a pilot program that would encourage the adoption use of electric vehicles and the build-out of EV infrastructure in Maine.

The five proposals include a program to test ways to coordinate battery charging times with the needs of the regional electric grid and promoting consumer awareness of what’s being called “beneficial electrification.”

But environmental groups are concerned that public synopses of the five proposals provided by the bidders do not provide enough transparency for interested parties to make useful and informed comments on. They are calling for the Public Utilities Commission to provide redacted versions of the actual bids.

“There are a lot of very sophisticated stakeholders in this state and the region with extensive knowledge and experience of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure and related issues. So we think the public has a lot of value to add to this proceeding. Particularly because this is a new issue for the Maine Public Utilities Commission,” says Emily Green, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation.

The commission’s RFP requires bidders to identify potential funding sources that do not affect electricity ratepayers.

A Columbia University graduate, Fred began his journalism career as a print reporter in Vermont, then came to Maine Public in 2001 as its political reporter, as well as serving as a host for a variety of Maine Public Radio and Maine Public Television programs. Fred later went on to become news director for New England Public Radio in Western Massachusetts and worked as a freelancer for National Public Radio and a number of regional public radio stations, including WBUR in Boston and NHPR in New Hampshire.