The push by Maine’s Public Advocate and AARP Maine to eliminate competition in the energy supply market (“Commentary: Maine’s alternative utility market experiment has been a failure,” April 6) is misguided and must be resisted.

We have a competitive market for electricity supply because the previous model of an integrated supply and distribution utility being granted monopoly status was an abject failure. AARP and the Public Advocate point out the challenges of the current system (a Public Utilities Commission procurement of standard offer electricity, plus other free market choices for consumers), but have the wrong remedy.

We have abundant evidence that granting monopoly power where this is not physically and economically required (as in the case of electricity delivery) is a very bad idea. In what universe do the AARP and the Public Advocate think that granting a private, for-profit energy supplier a monopoly and eliminating customer choice in a competitive market would be our salvation? We don’t live in that universe. What’s next? Making it illegal or impossible to generate one’s own electricity?

These well-meaning advocates would serve us better by working on holding competitive energy suppliers accountable for their marketing and business practices, and focusing on helping electricity customers by providing better information, so they can make good choices. We do not need to be protected from ourselves.

Steve Weems
Brunswick

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