I feel compelled to urge our state legislators to vote against L.D. 1708 (a Legislature-enabled takeover of Central Maine Power and Versant).

Clean-energy infrastructure requires careful, thoughtful consideration of facts, not ideology or politicization. L.D. 1708 would place our most critical infrastructure in the hands of a board of seven publicly elected (not necessarily qualified) politicians.

Imagine the board of CMP or Versant controlled by a political ideology one term, a different one the next, and back and forth. That’s the state of our politics today. How can we make smart long-term investments in clean energy with such uncertainty? L.D. 1708 relies on a management company and four non-voting advisers chosen by the board. How will they stand up to a politicized, ever-changing board?

Last year, the Legislature promised a study to truly understand the risks of a takeover. It didn’t happen. Instead, we are considering something never done on this scale, based on ideology and assumptions. It’s like jumping off a cliff blindfolded.

The cost of L.D. 1708 will be somewhere between one and three times (up to $13.5 billion) the entire debt of the state of Maine. Whether we pay through taxes or our utility bills, we will still be on the hook. L.D. 1708 finances this takeover and future investments 100 percent through debt. What happens to our bills and clean-energy plans if the interest rate for this debt skyrockets in five years? Ten? Twenty? I don’t know. But shouldn’t we be sure before jumping off a cliff blindfolded?

Alistair Raymond
chief compliance officer, Avangrid
Yarmouth

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