An Act To Provide More Options to Maine Electric Service Customers and Support Maine's Climate Goals
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0318
Committee Amendment CA_A_H918 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "tr,, to H.P. 222, L.D. 318, "An Act To Provide 
More Options to Maine Electric Service Customers and Support Maine's Climate Goals" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'Resolve, To Direct the Office of the Public Advocate To Study Reforming Maine's 
System of Retail Electricity Supply To Provide More Options to Maine Customers 
and Support Maine's Climate Goals' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. Public Advocate to conduct study on reform of retail electricity 
supply. Resolved: That the Office of the Public Advocate shall conduct a study of 
options for reforming the State's current system of retail electricity supply in ways that will 
provide greater competition among retail electricity supply providers and more options and 
protections for customers, including access to renewable and clean energy supply options. 
The office shall examine options relating to the State's standard offer system for facilitating 
the achievement of the State's climate goals and beneficial electrification. In conducting 
the study, the Public Advocate shall consult with the Public Utilities Commission, the 
Governor's Energy Office and stakeholders, including but not limited to advocates for low-
income persons, appropriate representatives of the federally recognized Indian tribes in this 
State, representatives of disadvantaged groups, representatives of small and large 
businesses and industries, advocates for the environment and renewable energy, 
representatives ofretail electricity supply providers and representatives of transmission and 
distribution utilities. The Public Advocate may also consult with other agencies and 
organizations, including but not limited to the Office of the Attorney General and the 
Efficiency Maine Trust. For the purposes of this resolve, "beneficial electrification" means 
electrification of a technology that results in reduction in the use of a fossil fuel, including 
electrification of a technology that would otherwise require energy from a fossil fuel, and 
that provides a benefit to a utility, a ratepayer or the environment, without causing harm to 
utilities, ratepayers or the environment, by improving the efficiency of the electricity grid 
or reducing consumer costs or emissions, including carbon emissions. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "ff°' to H.P. 222, L.D. 318 
Sec. 2. Authority to retain consultant with regard to study on reform of 
retail electricity supply. Resolved: That, in conducting the study under section 1, the 
Public Advocate may retain one or more consultants, including, to the greatest extent 
possible, persons from academic or research institutions in the State for analysis and report 
preparation. 
Sec. 3. Issues to be reviewed as part of study on reform of retail electricity 
supply. Resolved: That, in conducting the study under section 1, the Public Advocate 
shall ensure that, at a minimum, the following issues are examined. 
1. The Public Advocate shall examine methods of protecting customer rights and 
interests including through the establishment of a public access website portal through 
which customers may obtain information on and shop for competitive electricity supply. 
The Public Advocate shall examine the feasibility of a publicly accessible website 
maintained by the Public Utilities Commission or by the Office of the Public Advocate that 
provides current, independent and objective information that allows customers to compare 
terms, conditions and prices and value-added service offers provided by competitive 
electricity providers, as well as any other information the Public Advocate or the 
commission determines would be useful to customers. The Public Advocate shall consider 
how to ensure customers may use the website to easily access external publicly accessible 
websites where customers may review offers and contract details and execute agreements 
electronically. 
2. The Public Advocate shall examine the development and adoption of customer 
protections that include at least the following: 
A. Conditions for, or prohibitions on, any fees for residential customers seeking to 
change a product or pricing plan; 
B. Credits for excessive call center wait times; 
C. Education programs to inform customers about customer choices and protections 
and public service announcements by state agencies encouraging customers actively to 
shop for electricity supply options before winter and summer seasons when prices may 
be higher; 
D. Options for allowing retail electricity suppliers to bill for their electricity supply, 
value-added services and products along with the local distribution company's 
regulated charges; 
E. Publication, at least annually, of a competitive electricity provider report card that 
includes, but is not limited to, levels of verified complaints filed with the Public 
Utilities Commission against electricity providers; and 
F. Programs to protect low-income customers that incorporate energy equity 
considerations, including but not limited to a hardship program that provides grants to 
qualifying low-income customers on an annual basis; a payment extension program 
that allows a qualifying low-income customer additional time to pay a bill without the 
threat of termination; a payment plan program that allows qualifying low-income 
customers to pay the balance owed in installments along with the regular monthly bill; 
a bill discount program that provides qualifying low-income customers with a fixed 
discount on their monthly bill; and other programs designed to increase access to 
renewable energy for such customers. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" fr, to H.P. 222, L.D. 318 
3. The Public Advocate shall examine issues related to climate change and beneficial 
electrification, including: 
A. Analyzing how each studied electricity supply option would help achieve the state 
emissions level goals under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 576-A and 
the climate action plan under Title 38, section 577 as well as beneficial electrification, 
including rapid implementation of time-of-use rates, on-bill financing and other 
methods to assist customers in reducing carbon emissions and achieving beneficial 
electrification; 
B. Consideration of requirements for all competitive electricity providers to provide 
one or more clean energy options to customers, including at least one option that 
provides 100% of its electricity from renewable resources as defined in the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3210, subsection 2, paragraph C and to advertise 
to customers renewable energy supply options in a manner that is as prominent as the 
manner that other options are advertised to customers; and 
C. Consideration of whether default or other supply options could be used to assist in 
funding access to renewable energy or efficiency programs administered by the 
Efficiency Maine Trust. 
4. The Public Advocate shall examine possible alternatives to the State's standard offer 
service that reduce customer exposure to price volatility, provide product diversity 
including increased access to variously priced renewable energy and assist low-income and 
disadvantaged customer groups through product and pricing mechanisms. 
5. The Public Advocate shall examine the alternatives to the State's standard offer 
service identified by stakeholders consulted in accordance with section 1 and identify the 
likely advantages and disadvantages of each option with respect to the impact on customers 
in this State, with specific attention to low-income customers and principles of energy 
equity; the achievement of the State's climate goals; and adoption of beneficial 
electrification. The study must focus on a comprehensive but limited number of options to 
achieve the goals of the study. 
6. The Public Advocate shall examine ways to improve customer satisfaction and 
service quality when customers choose new retail electricity supply options during any 
transition to each supply system alternative identified in the study, including: 
A. Potential amendments to laws or rules to replace the standard offer service with one 
or more identified supply options, such as one or more designated default service 
providers, as a transition to implementation of the supply system option; 
B. Requirements for customer service improvements that could be accomplished 
during a transition to the supply system option, including improved customer service 
based on metrics relating to call wait time and billing accuracy that exceed the current 
standard offer service provider performance; 
C. Requirements for standard offer service providers, default service providers or other 
competitive electricity providers to keep customers informed of the price for any 
transitional retail service and whether the provider is certified by the Public Utilities 
Commission to offer consolidated billing services under the supply system option; and 
D. 
Any other transition period requirements or customer protections to ensure 
customers in the State are adequately protected during any transition. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,ff'~o H.P. 222, L.D. 318 
Sec. 4. Report to Legislature. Resolved: That the Public Advocate shall complete 
the study under section 1 and submit a report along with any recommendations and 
suggested legislation to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over electric utility matters by February 1, 2023. The Public Advocate shall provide an 
opportunity for public comment on the draft study and include a summary of public 
comments received in the final report. The report must include all alternatives that the study 
examined and the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative as well as any other 
issues that the Public Advocate and the stakeholders determine should be brought to the 
attention of the Legislature. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over electric utility matters may report out a bill during the 131st Legislature 
in 2023 relating to the results of the study. 
Sec. 5. 
Appropriations and allocations. Resolved: That the following 
appropriations and allocations are made. 
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 
Public Advocate 0410 
Initiative: Provides an allocation for the cost of contracted services. 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
All Other 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
2021-22 
$0 
$0 
2022-23 
$200,000 
$200,000 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill with a resolve directi11.g the Public Advocate to 
conduct a study to identify possible alternatives to the State's current system of retail 
electricity supply. The Public Advocate must consult with various identified stakeholders 
and is authorized to retain one or more consultants. At the conclusion of the study and after 
an opportunity for public comment on the draft study, the Public Advocate must submit a 
final report with any recommendations and suggested legislation to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over electric utility matters during the 
131st Legislature in 2023. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03/29/22 ~ae 
LD318 
LR 1486(02) 
An Act To Provide More Options to Maine Electric Service Customers and Support Maine's Climate 
Goals 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment '/Jr-{ f/ --1 I?> ) 
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY2021-22 
FY2022-23 
$200,000 
Projections 
FY2023-24 
Projections 
FY2024-25 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
$0 
$0 
This bill directs the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA) to conduct a study to identify possible alternatives to the 
State's current system of retail electricity supply. The bill includes a one-time allocation of $200,000 in fiscal year 
2022-23 to the OPA for the costs of contracted services related to the study. 
LR1486(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1 
$0