Question 3, the Pine Tree Power referendum, would establish a state authority to buy the assets of Maine’s two largest electric utilities, CMP and Versant.

When I was serving in the Maine Senate, similar legislation was proposed and there were also many unanswered questions then. Those questions remain: What will be the acquisition cost? The proposed law for the referendum requires the authority to buy the utilities no matter the cost, CMP and Versant are unwilling sellers, so how long would eminent domain take? Years? Would that delay our transition to a greener economy? Proponents claim reliability would improve, where is the plan?

These unanswered questions create serious uncertainty. Let’s get the answers to these critical questions before we approve this referendum. I think we should vote “No” on Question 3.

Bill Diamond
Windham