I lived for three years in Los Angeles, my wife’s hometown, before returning to Maine. During our time there, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power would periodically drop off free high-efficiency LED lightbulbs at our front door, as well as water-saving shower fixtures.

The department did this because it is a municipal-owned utility, with the goal of reducing total energy and water usage in Los Angeles.

Central Maine Power and Versant Power, on the other hand, have no incentive to help Mainers reduce our energy consumption. To the contrary, they are legally required to maximize profits for their shareholders.

Put simply, it makes no sense to have private corporations running our electrical utilities. I want a utility that prioritizes my family, my community and my state, not a utility that prioritizes its foreign shareholders. That’s why I’m proudly voting “yes” to establish Pine Tree Power, a utility owned by the people of Maine, to work for all of us.

Nick Fuller
Biddeford