Isabelle Winstead is a legal and policy fellow for Our Power, a Maine nonprofit pushing for energy decisions made by and for the people of Maine.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission’s recent rejection of Central Maine Power’s major rate increase request was a rare victory for ratepayers. But CMP is expected to file another rate case soon; understanding the regulatory context in which those decisions are made matters for Mainers, who are facing some of the nation’s fastest-rising electric rates.

Understanding how utility oversight breaks down elsewhere is essential if Maine is to avoid similar outcomes. A relevant case study can be found in Connecticut, where CMP’s parent company, Avangrid, demonstrated how forcefully utilities can push back when regulators enforce the rules.

As chair of Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), Marissa Gillett revived long‑neglected rules. She ordered utilities to return hundreds of millions of dollars to ratepayers, cut allowable profits when utilities underperformed and trimmed excessive rate proposals. In response, Avangrid undertook an aggressive public relations and legal strategy aimed at challenging PURA’s decisions — even as the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld every one of her rulings on appeal.

Last month, Gillett resigned, citing a relentless “cycle of lawsuits and press statements” that diverted PURA from its mission and took “a real emotional toll” on her, her family and her team. In Connecticut, CMP’s parent company showed how aggressively a utility may resist firm oversight — behavior Maine regulators could encounter as CMP prepares its next rate case.

Why would CMP’s parent go to such lengths? Because the utility industry is structured to reward it. Most U.S. regions have a single utility controlling transmission and distribution — a “natural monopoly,” since building parallel poles and wires would be inefficient. In exchange, utilities agree to be regulated. But their primary interest is maximizing profits, so regulation is essential to ensure reliable service at reasonable rates.

Utilities have strong financial incentives to cultivate friendly regulators. Long-term estimates of market returns average about 6.7%, yet regulated utilities have been authorized an average 9.6% return — a striking premium despite their lower risk relative to the broader market. Friendly regulators are more likely to approve capital-intensive projects, “gold-plated” projects, some of which may exceed what is strictly necessary to maintain the grid, to help utilities access these high returns through expensive investments. Essentially, the more they spend, the more they make.

While many investments are justified, the lack of competition, coupled with these high returns, makes it hard to distinguish essential projects from those that primarily boost profits. These structural incentives mean that effective regulation is not optional; it is the primary tool available to prevent unnecessary costs from being passed on to ratepayers.

Lenient oversight increases costs for the public. Customers with no alternative are forced to pay for both the full cost of investments and the regulated return. This built-in inefficiency helps explain why public power customers often pay roughly 13% less while enjoying more reliable service.

CMP’s parent has shown it can exploit this system in Connecticut. How can Maine prevent a similar outcome?

Maine has already taken protective steps, such as prohibiting utilities from passing lobbying costs onto ratepayers.  But more is needed, and Maine has the opportunity to set a national example. When the Legislature reconvenes in January, it could pass an Energy Fairness Act to enhance consumer protections, transparency and community engagement. Introducing whistleblower protections, a ratepayers’ bill of rights and performance-based regulations would further strengthen oversight.

Each of these measures ensures that monopoly privileges come with enforceable public obligations — even when utilities push back — and reinforces Mainers’ ability to have a real voice in how their electricity system is governed.

The time for action is now. Rapidly rising electric bills are discouraging electrification, slowing decarbonization and hitting vulnerable households and small businesses hardest. Public confidence is low, fueling political polarization and misdirected blame on clean energy. Meanwhile, CMP and Avangrid continue to report rising profits.

Our regulators and utility laws are crucial to our shared future. Let’s make them as strong and as sensible as we can — and answerable to all of us, not just a few powerful interests.