Advocate calls for $1M fine on Electricity Maine

The state Office of the Public Advocate is recommending that Electricity Maine, the largest private seller of electric power in the state, pay a $1 million fine and be suspended from operation for a year in response to a range of “fraudulent or deceptive marketing tactics.”

The OPA on Friday asked the Maine Public Utilities Commission to levy the penalties, citing a door-to-door marketing campaign from November 2017 through July 2018 that prompted over 70 complaints from consumers.

In a news release, the OPA said Electricity Maine sales agents posed as auditors or employees of Central Maine Power Co., promised false lower rates, and even made a fictitious offer of “free service for a year.”

In March 2018, the PUC issued a warning letter to Electricity Maine regarding the practices, but the company continued them, according to the OPA. Electricity Maine representatives did not deny the vast majority of the allegations in testimony to the commission.

“When rogue actors behave as Electricity Maine has, it undermines consumer confidence and trust in the market, diminishing the potential benefits of the market for everyone,” Public Advocate Barry Hobbins said in the release. “The remedies sought by the OPA are intended to restore confidence in the integrity of the market to ensure that these benefits continue to be available.”

The Office of the Public Advocate represents Maine utility consumers in matters before the Public Utilities Commission, as well as in proceedings with state and federal agencies and courts.