An Act To Facilitate the Protection of Electric Utility Consumer Interests in Public Utility Commission Cases Involving the Construction, Rebuilding or Relocating of Transmission Lines
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0147
Committee: Utilities and Energy
Sponsors: HINCK, HOBBINS, BLANCHARD, DOSTIE, VAN WIE, WAGNER, BLISS
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3132

Legislative Document 
No. 147 
H.P.126 
House of Representatives, January 15, 2009 
An Act To Facilitate the Protection of Electric Utility Consumer 
Interests in Public Utility Commission Cases Involving the 
Construction, Rebuilding or Relocating of Transmission Lines 
Submitted by the Office of the Public Advocate pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Utilities and Energy suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative HINCK of Portland. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Senator HOBBINS of York and Representatives: BLANCHARD of Old 
Town, DOSTIE of Sabattus, VAN WIE of New Gloucester, WAGNER of Lyman, Senator: 
BLISS of Cumberland. 
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Be it enacted by the People ofthe State of Maine as follows: 
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Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3132, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2007, c. 148, §8, IS 
further amended to read: 
9. Filing fee; waiver of fee. When a petition is filed under this section, the person or 
persons involved shaH pay to the commission an amount equal to 2/100 of 1 % and pay to 
the Office of the Public Advocate an amount equal to 1/100 of 1 % of the estimated cost 
to erect, rebuild or relocate the transmission line provided that in the case of a petition 
filed under subsection 2, the fee to the commission is 4/100 of 1 % and the fee to the 
Office of the Public Advocate is 2/1 00 of 1 %. The person may, at the time of the filing 
of notice of its intent to file the petition, or, in the case of lines subject to subsection 2, at 
the time of the filing of the petition, request the commission, the Office of the Public 
Advocate or both to waive all or a portion of the filing fee. The commission or the Office 
of the Public Advocate or both as necessary shall rule on the request for waiver within 30 
days. 
Filing fees paid as required under this subsection must be segregated, apportioned 
and expended by the commission and the Office of the Public Advocate for the purposes 
of this section. Any portion of the filing fee that is received from any person and is not 
expended by the commission to process the petition for a certificate of public 
convenience and necessity or by the Office of the Public Advocate to represent the 
interest of consumers in the proceeding before the commission must be returned to the 
person. 
SUMMARY 
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This bill provides the Office of the Public Advocate with authority similar to that of 
the Public Utilities Commission tQ receive from the applicant for a certificate ofpuhlic 
convenience and necessity a filing fee .. While the filing fee for the Public Utilities 
Commission is equal to either 2/100 of 1 % or 4/100 of 1 % of the estimated cost to erect, 
rebuild or relocate the transmission line, the filing fee for the Public Advocate would be 
equal to 11100 of 1 % or 2/100 of 1 % of the estimated cost. This mechanism for funding 
the Public Advocate to represent the interests of Maine ratepayers in transmission 
certificate of public convenience and necessity cases is needed to avoid having other 
electric utilities that are not applicants for the certificate subsidize the cost of having the 
Office of the Public Advocate participate in one of these cases. It allows a fee to be 
assessed by the Office of the Public Advocate on an applicant for a transmission 
certificate of public convenience and necessity who is not otherwise subject to an 
assessment to support the work of the Office of the Public Advocate under the Maine 
ReVised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 116, subsection 8. 
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