CMP asks state to approve $162M storm recovery reimbursement

By Ari Snider, Maine Public

Central Maine Power is asking state regulators to approve $162 million in recovery costs following multiple major storms last year.

CMP spokesperson Jon Breed said it’s the highest reimbursement request going back at least 10 years, adding that recovery costs have increased dramatically as climate change fuels more frequent and more devastating storms.

“These are the costs of climate change. And this is what we are working to plan for to ensure we not only harden the grids to prevent outages but ensure the grid is set up to continue to serve Maine future generations,” Breed said.

Breed said the storm recovery costs would be paid for through rate increases.

That worries William Harwood, the state’s public advocate, who said increases will cause hardship for ratepayers, especially those with low incomes.

And, Harwood said, the increasing cost of storm damage should serve as an urgent call to harden the grid as climate change fuels more extreme weather.

“We need to do a better job of anticipating these storms and making changes to the grid so that it can keep more lights on for more hours, rather than the more expensive job of cleaning it up after the fact,” he said.

The reimbursement request now heads to the Public Utilities Commission.

This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.