Central Maine Power announced Thursday that the late October wind storm cost the company $69 million, and customers could see rates increase by $1.30 per month starting in July as the company seeks to recoup part of that expense.

“The storm was unprecedented in the number of customers affected,” said Kevin Elwell, director of electric distribution for CMP. “Damage was on nearly every distribution circuit, resulting in more than 1,400 broken poles.”

The estimate came on a conference call Thursday, wherein the company answered questions about the filing of an official response to a Public Utilities Commission investigation into CMP’s storm response.

That wind storm knocked out power for an estimated 467,000 CMP customers and left many in the Midcoast without power for more than a week.

The company estimates that the storm cost them $69 million. Of that, $32 million is for capital costs, such as damaged or replaced equipment. CMP did not provide estimates for how capital costs would increase rates, though most of it will ultimately be recouped from customers.

CMP expects that $14 million in a reserve account will be applied to the remaining $27 million, leaving customers immediately on the hook for the remaining $13 million. The reserve account is comprised of money collected from customers in prior years.

Company officials noted that median customers could see their rate increase by between 65 cents or more than $1.30 per month. That difference depends on whether the company is permitted to collect that money over one or two years.

Additionally, the company hasn’t received all of the billing information from its efforts to restore power, and the $69 million estimate could be revised up before March, leading to a larger rate increase for customers.

“The numbers are estimates. They’re preliminary,” said Eric Stinneford, vice president, controller, treasurer and clerk for CMP. “We are still processing final invoicing for the many vendors we used during this event, and our final numbers will not be submitted to the commission until March.”

Ultimately, the company said that it expects to put just $2 million of its own money toward the total cost of the storm.

In a press release, Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, criticized the company for paying for the storm through rate increases.

“Today, we see in black and white what CMP customers knew was coming ever since the lights went out during the ‘Halloween Storm’ of 2017: That our bills are going to go up,” Berry stated. “CMP is an investor-owned company, but it is Maine ratepayers who will be on the hook to cover CMP’s costs, even though many of us were without power for days or longer.”

nstrout@timesrecord.com

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