An Act to R~qui1:~
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0860
Committee Amendment CA_A_H204 (House)
Amends: 35-A MRSA §1702, 35-A MRSA §1708

COMMJTTEE AMENDMENT "A:.' t~ H.P. 546, L.D. 860, "An Act to R~qui1:~ 
Competitive Electricity Providers to Provide Certain Information ~o the Public Advocate" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: . _ 
'An AcJ to Allow the Public Advocate to Obtain Information from Public Utilities, 
Competitive Electricity Providers and Standard-offer Service Providers' 
Amend .the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
emergen~y clause and insetting the following: 
• 
'Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §1702, sub-§1, as amen<l(;)d by PL 262 i, ~. 659, § 13, is fmther 
amended to read: 
• •• 
• • 
• 
.. Review and recommendations, The Public Advocate may. rev1ew, investigate and 
mak<;J appropriate recommendations to the commission or the Legislature with respect to: 
A. The reasonableness ofrates charged or prnposed to be charged by any public utility; 
B. The reasonableness and adequacy of the service or the terms and conditions of such 
service fumished or proposed to ·be fumished by any public utility, standard-offer 
service provider or competitive electricity provider; 
C. Any proposal by a public utility to reduce or abandon sei'vice to the public; 
D. The issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity, Recommendations 
may include alternative analyses and plans as necessary; 
E. Terms and conditions of public utilities; 
F, Mergers and consolidations of public utilities; 
G. Contracts of public utilities with affiliates or subsidiaries; and 
H. Secmities, regulations and transactions of public utilities. 
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §1708, as enacted by PL 1987, c, 141, Pt. A, §6, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ot::> 
~-
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A' to H.P. 546, L.D. 860 
§1708. Information from utilities, standard-offer service providers and competitive 
electricity providers 
1. Reports and filings. Utilities shall provide to the Public Advocate copies of all 
reports and other· infonnation required to be filed with or that may be submitted to the 
com1nission, except to the extent that this requirement is waived, in writing, by the Public 
Advocate. 
2. Commission order; information disclosure. The Public Advocate may petition 
the commission for infonnation or da'ta from a public utility, standard-offer serv.ice 
provider or competitive electricity provider that is necessa1y. for the Public Advocate to 
carry out the purposes of this chapter. The commission may, upon a showing of good 
cause, order a public utility, standard-offer service provider or competitive electricity 
provider to provide such infonnation or data to the Public Advocate.· To the extent that the 
information or data would otherwise be confidential pursuant to this Title or rules adopted 
pursuant to this Title, the Public Advocate or the utility, standard-offer servfoe provider or 
competitive electricity provider may request that the commission issue a protective oi·de1; 
pursuant to section· 131 J-A to protect such information or data from. disclosure. 
• 
3. Data and information requests. In a proceeding before the commission, the Public 
Advocate has the same right ~o request data or information as_ an inter".enor.· 
Sec. 3. Office of the Public Advocate to conduct study; prepare report. The 
Office of the Public Advocate, referred to in this section as "the office, 
shall conduct a 
study and prepare a report regarding rates and business practices of standard-offer service 
providers and competitive electricity providers. • The study must take into account 
differences in: products and services offered by standard-offer service providers and 
competitive electricity providers, including, but not limited to, value-added services, such 
as behind-the-meter services that may reduce a customer's electricity demand, and varying 
contract periods. 
1. In conducting the study and preparing the report under this section, the office shall 
consult with and solicit recommendations from interested parties, including at least 3 
competitive electricity providers and one cu!'l'ent or former provider of standard-offer 
service to residential and small commercial customers, regarding the study methodology, 
the office's analysis, any recommendations developed by the office and the repo1t. The 
office shall provide interested patties with the opp01tunity to review and provide comments 
on at least one draft report prior to submitting the final repo1t pursuant to subsection 2. 
2. The office shall submit a final repo1t by December 3, 2025 to the Joint Standing 
Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology. 
The final repo1t must include all 
comments and recommendations the office received from interested patties in an appendix 
to the final repo1t. After receiving the final repo1t, the committee may repo1t out legislation 
relating to the final rep01t to the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature.' 
Amend the bill by relettering 01· renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill and does the following. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
o'?:> 
~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"~ to H,P, 546, L.D. S60 
1. It amends the duties of the Public Advocate to include the review and investigation 
of the reasonableness and, adequacy of the service or the terms and conditions of such 
service furnished or proposed to be furnished by any public utility, standard-offer service 
provider or competitive electricity provider. It also allows the Public Advocate to make 
recommendations to the Legislature with respect to its review and investigation. 
2. It repeals and replaces existing law to clarify existing provisions and adds specific 
authority for the Public Advocate to petition the Public Utilities Commission for 
information or data from a public utility, standard-offer service provider or competitive 
electricity provider that is necessary for the Public Advocate to carry out the purposes of 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, chapter 17. To the extent that the information or 
data would otherwise be confidential pursuant to applicable laws and -rules, the Public 
Advocate, the public utility, standard-offer service provider or competitive electricity 
provider may request that the commission issue a protective order to protect such 
information or data from disclosure. 
3, It directs the Office of the Public Advocate to conduct a study and prepare a report 
regarding rates and business practices of standard-offer se1:vice providers and competitive 
electricity providers. In conducting the study and preparing a repo11, the office is required 
to consult with and solicit recommendations from interested pa1iies, The final rep01i must 
be submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology by 
December 3, 2025, and the committee may repo11 out legislation based on the final rep011 
to the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/10/25 LRL 
LD860 
LR 533(02) 
An Act to Require Competitive Electricity Providers to Provide Certain Information to the Public 
Advocate 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'fl:._' I l-\---2oY) 
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology 
Lt 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes· 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Office of the Public Advocate to implement the provisions of this bill are expected to be 
minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0533(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1