I’ve seen numerous comments from opponents of Pine Tree Power alleging that it will be government owned, with the implication that politicians can’t be trusted. This is a misperception of how Pine Tree Power will work.

While I am a native and property owner in Maine, I’ve lived in Washington state for nearly 40 years, where publicly owned utilities are the norm. My electric utility, Snohomish Public Utility District, is structured very much like PTP. The board is directly elected in staggered terms; there is no connection with either the county or state government other than the state agency that regulates all utilities, just as the Maine PUC regulates utilities in Maine. Snohomish PUD serves over 367,000 customers, or a bit less than a third of the population of Maine.

As any customer of CMP knows, your utility ranks dead last in its market segment in the JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey of 145 utilities. Overall, publicly owned utilities provide better customer satisfaction, more community involvement and lower rates than shareholder-owned utilities.

I encourage everyone to disregard the misinformation being disseminated by CMP and vote based on the facts. Your choice should be clear.

William Taylor

Bothell, Washington