Let’s go over this again. Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant don’t generate power, they maintain the infrastructure responsible for its “delivery.” This year the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) selected NextEra Energy, New Brunswick Energy, and Constellation Energy to “supply” standard delivery electricity for the regions CMP manages and New Brunswick Energy alone to “supply” it for the regions Versant manages. Last year CMP charged $0.093655 per KWH for “delivery” and collected $0.064494 per KWH for “supply,” which NextEra Energy and New Brunswick Energy provided. This year they’re again charging $0.093655 per KWH for “delivery” but collecting $0.118161 per KWH for “supply.” So you see, NextEra Energy, New Brunswick Energy, and Constellation Energy all nearly doubled their asking price for electricity, which CMP left their rates unchanged.
What’s interesting is that the MPUC had to reduce NextEra Energy’s influence to keep the standard offer rate from going even higher. Last year they awarded 67% of the standard offer market to NextEra Energy and 33% to New Brunswick Energy. This year they awarded 34% to NextEra Energy, 33% to New Brunswick Energy, and 33% to Constellation Energy. In the Bangor Hydro region managed by Versant the change was more substantial. There the MPUC dropped NextEra (who was awarded 67% of the standard offer market last year) and Constellation Energy (who was awarded 33% of the standard offer market last year) and awarded 100% of the market to New Brunswick Energy this year in an attempt to limit the “supply” rate. Despite this their “supply” rate rose from $0.061960 per KWH to $0.116840 per KWH, showing that generators across the board increased their rates.
Electricity generators blamed these increases on the rising cost of natural gas. But they’re not exactly apologetic. If anything they’re defensive. Last year generators defended the market from competition citing the impact falling prices would have on them through the New England Power Generators Association (NEPGA). NextEra Energy alone spent $20 million on its effort to prevent an influx of hydroelectricity from reducing prices across New England because they view them as a threat to the more expensive to operate fossil fuels driven generators they operate, and blame for the increases we’re discussing. That’s why “supply” rates rose throughout New England not just here in Maine.
This is the energy market. It’s cutthroat. The industry creates wars where it wants to secure access to contested resources and controversy where it wants to defend markets. Generators don’t want to shut down fossil fuels driven generators if they can help it because those assets seized by the industry make the margin for profit substantial, as long as they can get the consumer to pay.
Jamie Beaulieu
Farmington
