An Act To Protect Jobs in the Forest Product Industry
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1792
Committee Amendment CA_A_H758 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 1283, L.D. 1792, Bill, "An Act To 
Protect Jobs in the Forest Product Industry" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and before the summary and 
inserting the following: 
'Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, through a series of private and special laws, the State has granted certain 
rights, privileges, immunities and franchises to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners to 
construct, own and operate dams and hydroelectric and related facilities for the purpose 
of generating and transmitting electricity and to Great Northern Paper, LLC, and its 
predecessors in interest, including, but not limited to, the authority to build, own, operate 
and maintain paper production facilities; and 
Whereas, existing provisions in private and special laws may be inhibiting Great 
Northern Paper, LLC, as the owner of the paper production facility in the Town of 
Millinocket or the paper production facility in the Town of East Millinocket from 
reaching a temporary load-shedding agreement with Brookfield Renewable Energy 
Partners for the sharing of revenues from the sale of electricity from the hydropower 
facilities when there is a temporary cessation or reduction of paper production; and 
Whereas, Great Northern Paper, LLC, ceased paper production at the East 
Millinocket paper production facility in late January 2014 and intends to use the paper 
mill closure period to make necessary facility upgrades to improve efficiency and 
enhance the facility's long-term viability; and 
Whereas, Great Northern Paper, LLC, intends to employ as many of the East 
Millinocket paper production facility's employees as possible to perform the necessary 
upgrades and improvements during the current closure period and to reopen the facility as 
soon as possible; and 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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y,. () 'i 'i'> COMMITrEE AMENDMENT ,,~ " to HP" 1283" L. D" 1792 
I 
Whereas, the purpose of this legislation is expressly to permit load-shedding 
agreements that would provide revenues to support the continued viability of the paper 
production facilities and preserve the work force employed at those facilities and thereby 
promote the public welfare; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. P&SL 2001, c. 45, §2 is amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to 
read: 
Nothing in this section prohibits temporary load-shedding agreements in accordance 
with section 2-B. 
Sec. 2. P&SL 2001, c. 45, §2-B is enacted to read: 
Sec. 2-B. 
Temporary load-shedding agreements. 
In order to ensure the 
continued viability of the paper production facility in MiIIinocket or the paper production 
facility in East MiIIinocket, the owner of the paper production facility in Millinocket or 
the paper production facility in East Millinocket and the owner of the Hydropower 
Facilities may enter into temporary load-shedding agreements in accordance with this 
section. 
1. Temporary reduction or closure; sharing of revenues. 
A temporary load-
shedding agreement may provide for temporary cessation of or reduction in paper 
production at a paper production facility for periods of less than 90 days, or in excess of 
days to the limited extent permitted under subsection 3, in order to allow the sale of 
electricity from the Hydropower Facilities to another purchaser or entity or into the 
wholesale electric market and provide that the owner of the paper production facility 
shares in the revenue generated from those sales of electricity. 
2. Purpose; terms. It is the purpose of the Legislature in expressly authorizing 
temporary load-shedding agreements to encourage mutually beneficial agreements 
between the parties that provide revenues to support the continued viability of the paper 
production facilities and preserve the work force employed at those facilities and thereby 
promote the public welfare. When developing any temporary load-shedding agreement, 
the parties shall consider terms that promote those purposes, which may include terms 
that rely on indicators of the continuing viability of the paper production facilities, 
induding maintenance of the facility's labor force during and following the temporary 
cessation of or reduction in paper production. 
3. Limited one-time exception. A temporary load-shedding agreement may include 
a cessation of paper production at the East Millinocket paper production facility for more 
than 90 days only if: 
A. The cessation began on January 23, 2014; 
B. The cessation ends and paper production resumes at the facility no later than June 
30, 2014 with the number of employees agreed to by the unions representing the 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A" to H.P. 1283, L.D. 1792 
employees of the paper production facility and the owner of the paper production 
facility; and 
C. The temporary load-shedding agreement involves the sharing of revenue from no 
more than 90 days of electricity sales during this temporary cessation of paper 
production. 
If a temporary load-shedding agreement is entered into under this subsection and paper 
production resumes at the facility in accordance with paragraph B, the cessation 
described in this subsection is not a Paper Mill Closing for purposes of section 2 and all 
prohibitions, requirements and other provisions of section 2 that would otherwise apply 
with respect to that cessation do not apply. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved.' 
SUMMARY 
Current law restricts the ability of Great Northern Paper, LLC, to receive revenue 
from the sale of electricity from Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners when there is a 
long-term cessation of paper production for a period of at least 90 days. 
This 
amendment, which replaces the bill, clarifies that the current law does not prohibit short-
term load-shedding agreements and expressly authorizes such agreements for the purpose 
of promoting the continued viability of the paper production facilities and preserving the 
work force employed at those facilities and thereby promoting the public welfare. It also 
allows a one-time, limited exemption from certain provisions of current law, including 
the prohibition on agreements relating to longer-tenn paper mill closings, for the current 
cessation of paper production at the East Millinocket paper production facility that began 
on January 23,2014, as long as certain conditions are met, including a reopening of the 
facility no later than June 30, 2014 with the number of employees agreed upon by the 
unions representing the employees and the owner of the paper production facility. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT