Bill Would Allow Utility Affiliates To Own Generation

A Maine bill (LD 1513, HP 1036) would allow affiliates of investor-owned transmission and distribution electric utilities to own generation.

Currently, Maine law generally prohibits affiliates of the electric utilities from owning generation

The bill would permit the PUC to, by rule, "allow an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility to have a generation affiliate as long as the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility does not have a financial interest in the generation affiliate sufficient to produce incentives for favoritism that would undermine the purposes of this chapter."

The bill would provide that, "The rules adopted by the commission must establish minimum standards necessary to protect ratepayers and standards of conduct governing the relationship between an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility and a generation affiliate."

The bill would require that such standards of conduct adopted by the commission must ensure at a minimum that:

A. A generation affiliate is not given preference over nonaffiliated competitive generators;

B. Employees of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility may not be shared with and must be physically separated from those of a generation affiliate;

C. The books of accounts and records of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility and a generation affiliate must be separate and are subject to review by the commission; and

D. An investor-owned transmission and distribution utility may not subsidize the business of a generation affiliate at the expense of ratepayers.