When Heather Sanborn served in the Maine State Legislature not so long ago, she voted in support of granting credits to solar companies as part of Governor Janet Mills’ (D) green energy agenda, but now that she’s the state’s Public Advocate representing the ratepayers before the Public Utilities Commission, is she ready to fight against the complex, controversial and burdensome net energy billing (NEB) program that is leaving more and more Mainer’s with sticker shock when they open their electric bills?
“We haven’t saved any money since we started (the community solar program),” Daryl Sawyer told FOX23 News on Tuesday, and his wife Didi added, “it’s just been a nightmare.”
Is Maine’s appointed official tasked with sticking up for utility rate payers listening?
“We have heard a lot of concerns about the confusion about double billing,” Public Advocate Sanborn said this week in response to rising complaints about solar farms many Mainers signed up for in recent years on the promise they’d reduce electric bills by 15-20%. When the promise doesn’t seem to materialize, ratepayers have been vexed by “not being able to get out of a contract right away,” Sanborn acknowledged.
During her confirmation hearing late last year, Sanborn was asked whether she would later work as a lobbyist for the solar companies that are currently reaping the rewards of Maine’s current energy policies, and according to those present she gave neither a definitive yes or no to the question. While that might have been speculative, in the hear and now Mainers are contending with two sets of electric bills and not necessarily seeing any savings, many have complained.
[RELATED: Who Does “Public Advocate” Heather Sanborn Really Represent?]
It’s gotten so bad that earlier this month Republicans in the State House introduced bills to scrap the solar credit program altogether. State Senator Stacey Guerin (R-Glenburn) argued Maine can no longer afford the $130 million program late last year. Today, the budget is strapped and Governor Mills is seeking an emergency supplemental of approximately the same amount.
“Maine already has the sixth-highest electricity rate in the nation, according to an analysis by Dow Jones’ financial subsidiary MarketWatch. Considering that we already have the highest property tax burden in the nation and the fourth-highest tax burden when adding together all taxes we pay, this is not how life should be and a new tax only makes it worse,” Sen. Guerin presciently said last summer, while this month the Mills administration began pushing for “revenue raisers” to plug holes in state spending.
Guerin has cited examples of businesses in her district that are struggling to keep up with their electric bills, and ties these to the controversial program she now seeks to eliminate.
On January 28, Sanborn was narrowly confirmed by a 19-15 party line vote in the legislature’s upper house. State Senator and Assistant Minority Leader Matt Harrington (R-York) spoke out against her nomination at the time, specifically citing how the net energy billing program is disproportionately hurting lower-income rate payers, who don’t even participate either in the solar panel or community solar farm programs.
[RELATED: Maine Senate Confirms Heather Sanborn as Public Advocate]
In its 2024 session, the State House ultimately killed efforts to address the inequities in the solar credit program, but after another year without relief pressure may be building for action. In the meantime, Sanborn says she will press the solar companies to do a better job responding to consumer complaints about cost, complexity and the difficulties in getting out of the problem encountered by those who signed up but now regret it.
Does Sanborn regret her past support of net energy billing?
“I can’t assure you that I, in the benefit of hindsight — that was five years ago, and technology has advanced, the costs of things have changed, we had COVID in between, I don’t know. And I don’t think it’s productive to sort of Monday morning quarterback things that happened five years ago,” she said while interviewing with the Senate for her current post.
Now ratepayers are waiting for action.
