Re: “Gov. Mills preparing utility accountability bill, with threat of consumer-owned option” (Feb. 1):

It is good news that Gov. Mills is willing to consider a buyout of Central Maine Power, but CMP is only part of the problem with electricity service in Maine. It has been my experience in dealing with the Public Utilities Commission that what the public needs from them is not high on their list of priorities. Does this not contribute to the problem of electricity supply in Maine?

The PUC’s recent announcement that electricity rates would increase sharply came with little warning for the consumer to make decisions concerning which electric supplier might best serve their needs going forward. That is not to say that the PUC actually offers any real assistance in selecting a supplier. What they do provide is merely a list of 89 approved suppliers with contact information.

Yesterday, I talked with a PUC staff person who told me that folks at the bottom of the pecking order let the bosses know what the public is asking for, without results. For example, I learned that there is another website that lists the 10 providers that offer fixed rates that are on the PUC list. It is not a site I was able to find searching the web, but it is there.

How can it be that the bosses have not thought to provide that readily available information? Seems as if the bosses are so well paid that they don’t bother to look at their CMP bills. Many of us do, for obvious reasons.

Jonathan Mitschele
New Gloucester

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