Thom Moore is a former NASA scientist and fellow of the American Geophysical Union. He consults and writes as proprietor of 3rd Rock Research in Scarborough.

An important article by Tux Turkel of The Maine Monitor appeared recently in the Portland Press Herald, focusing on affordability of energy costs and especially electricity, as discussed by a policy outlook panel of the Maine Legislature. It was good to read that there is a respectful dialogue ongoing between the main points of view represented. 

However, one statement stood out to me as questionable: “… a wave of solar development … proved too generous and created a multimillion dollar burden for electric customers.” I do not see a charge anywhere on my electric bill that is attributable to solar development in Maine. 

I do see, over 30 years, electric bills both in Maryland and in Maine. The cost of the energy itself here in Maine is equal to what it is in Maryland, about 10 cents per kWh. That hasn’t changed much recently in Maryland or in Maine.

What has changed is the cost of “delivery” or transmission of electricity to the rate-paying customer. That cost in Maine is three times as much as it is in Maryland, some 15 cents per kWh. Rising transmission costs have been by far the most dramatic recent change, destroying the affordability of electric power in Maine. 

What happened? The Public Utilities Commission approved utilities to recover storm damage costs suffered during the winter 2022 storms. Despite the fact that these were considered “100- year storms,” we are paying off the damage in two to three years.

So how can that change be attributable to solar development? In the grand scheme, storm damage costs are more correctly attributable to rising sea levels and increased storm severity owing to global warming, in turn driven by greenhouse gases from burning fuels. This single fact should make it clear what needs to be done to make delivered electricity more affordable in Maine. 

A theme one often hears in Maine, also echoed in the article, is that new facilities “are built to satisfy out-of-state contracts and don’t benefit Maine electric customers.”

To my knowledge, it is not possible to trace electric currents from their sources to specific rate payers. So it isn’t correct to think of power generated in Maine as being reserved for customers outside of Maine. All power put into the grid benefits everyone on the grid. 

Maine will continue to pay the same natural gas and fuel costs as the rest of the Eastern states region, including Mid-Coast Maryland. Maine decided to decommission its Maine Yankee nuclear power plant because it was more expensive to repair and maintain it than to increase other forms of generation. Investors, not politicians, will decide whether new types of reactors can change that math and contribute to improved affordability. 

The way to improve the affordability of Maine electric power is 1) to mitigate the infrastructure damage done by coastal and winter storms, and 2) to produce as much power as possible locally, to limit our dependence on transmission lines, which represent the most expensive part of our power bills. It may even be worth consideration of public ownership of the delivery infrastructure. 

Sustainable energy sources contribute to both goals, unlike fossil fuels, which exacerbate sea level rise and make us ever more dependent on pipe line and power line infrastructure that, until we arrest global warming, will be ever more costly to maintain.