AUGUSTA — Supporters of an effort to require the use of more renewable resources to generate electricity failed to meet Monday’s deadline to turn in signatures calling for a statewide referendum in November.

They said they will try for 2013 instead.

Maine Citizens for Clean Energy came close, but not close enough, to the 57,277 voters’ signatures it needed, said spokesman David Farmer.

The group did not determine its final tally, he said, but with signatures subject to validation by the Secretary of State’s Office, it knew it needed more of a cushion before turning in its petition.

“We concluded that we didn’t have enough of a margin to be confident about qualifying for 2012,” Farmer said in a prepared statement. “One more week likely would have been enough. We’re that close.”

Gov. Paul LePage, who has been an outspoken critic of the effort, declared victory in a press release Monday afternoon.

“It is a great day for Mainers,” he said. “(The group’s) failure to gather signatures is an indication that hardworking Mainers are skeptical of this job killing proposal.”

LePage has said the requirement for renewable energy sources would increase the cost of electricity and drive businesses and residents out of state in search of cheaper rates.

Supporters have acknowledged that there would be rate increases initially, but say that costs would decrease over time and that the requirement to find alternatives could bring more than 11,000 jobs to the state.

They say Maine must work to reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

Environment Northeast, a nonprofit that promotes clean energy and fights global warming, estimates that residential electricity bills would go up by 84 cents a month in 2014 before dropping by $4.40 a month by 2020 and $8.70 a month by 2030.

Farmer said the governor’s critical comments in recent weeks had no significant impact on the petition drive.

In the last few weeks, the signatures have been in town offices across the state awaiting verification before going to Augusta.

Farmer said the group will need to gather more signatures in the coming weeks and he’s confident that people will continue to support the effort.

“People understand that energy efficiency is a good investment, it creates jobs,” he said.

The energy initiative would build on current law, which requires electricity providers to get at least 10 percent of their energy from new renewable resources by 2017.

Supporters of the ballot initiative want to increase the target to 14 percent in 2017 and raise it gradually to 20 percent by 2020.

The initiative would require utilities to invest in energy efficiency if doing so would reduce costs for ratepayers.

A new opposition group, a political action committee called Stop Taking Our Paychecks, released a statement critical of the effort.

“That referendum was only going to make bad law worse,” said Chris O’Neil, a former Democratic state lawmaker who now is a lobbyist. “Now the Legislature and governor can get to work fixing 30 years of flawed electricity policy.”

The PAC’s registration does not indicate who is behind the opposition other than O’Neil.

O’Neil’s clients in this legislative session are Friends of Maine Mountains, which has opposed wind power projects, and Northeast Delta Dental.

He worked last fall for a group that opposed the two proposed gambling operations on the state ballot.

A phone call to O’Neil was not returned Monday afternoon.

The energy coalition, which includes the Natural Resources Council of Maine, Environment Maine and the Sierra Club, now has until January 2013 to get the 57,277 signatures – 10 percent of the ballots cast in the 2010 gubernatorial election – it needs to get on the ballot.

Farmer said the group has not yet decided whether to target June or November in 2013 for a vote.

MaineToday Media State House Writer Susan Cover can be contacted at 620-7015 or at: scover@mainetoday.com