PUC approves increased Efficiency Maine investment
A three-year plan to boost energy efficiency investments in the state won approval Wednesday from Maine's Public Utilities Commission and now heads to the Legislature for approval.
By the end of the Efficiency Maine Trust's newly approved three-year plan, the system benefit charge, which is a part of power rates customers pay, would increase. Now, the system benefit charge takes in just over $13 million a year; the new plan would increase that annual figure, over three years, to $30 million, according to the PUC decision.
An analysis by Environment Northeast claims the efficiency investments made through that increased funding would ultimately drop Maine electricity rates 6% by 2025 and boost Gross State Product by $1.4 billion.
Over the past three years, the EMT's funding has included federal stimulus dollars in addition to the system benefit charge, which is used to invest in broad efforts to reduce electricity, natural gas and heating oil consumption.
The latest three-year plan estimates it will save $500 million in energy costs over the life of its efficiency investments.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated how much the Efficiency Maine Trust's system benefit charge would increase by the end of its three-year term under the PUC-approved plan. The story has been modified to reflect the correct information.
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