AUGUSTA – The Maine Public Utilities Commission voted to deny a temporary rate increase request by Central Maine Power Tuesday.

The commission voted unanimously to deny the request, which is part of an overall permanent rate increase request that the commission is still deliberating.

PUC Chair Philip Bartlett said the commission can allow temporary rate increases, provided the proposed increase amount is not in dispute but a number of organizations, including the Natural Resources Council of Maine, have filed formal objections.

“Ultimately, I think the three of us concluded that there really was so many issues in dispute in the case, that it was really difficult to pinpoint a specific number that wasn’t in dispute,” he said. 

CMP applied for approval for a permanent rate increase on April 17, raising rates to generate $189 million in new revenue. The temporary increase, which the PUC denied on Tuesday, would have generated nearly $70 million, and resulted in a per-month increase in electric bills by about $7.

In a statement, CMP indicated it needed the revenue to offset “mounting financial pressure.” The company described a series of construction and upgrade projects, affecting more than 15,000 customers in South Portland, Biddeford, Saco, Limington, Baldwin, Sebago, Standish and West Bridgton.

The projects, according to CMP, are designed to make the electrical grids in their respective communities more resilient, and help meet current and future electricity demands.

But, CMP indicated, those projects are now in jeopardy due to skyrocketing costs the company blamed on “years of inflation pressures, higher borrowing costs, and rising labor, equipment, and construction expenses.” 

Without the new revenue, CMP officials said the new projects may be delayed. Bartlett said he had read the financial disclosure documents CMP submitted as part of its proposal, and was not unsympathetic, saying, “I understand the challenge” for the utility.

But, Bartlett noted, CMP also overspent in recent years, with the evidence showing the utility spent as much as 50% more over a period between 2022 and 2025 than the company had projected.

“I think that the challenge here is part of the problem is CMP’s own doing,” he said.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine issued a statement supporting the PUC’s decision. 

"No Mainer thinks utilities should be able to make higher profits without accountability while families and local businesses struggle with the escalating cost of everything,” said Rebecca Schultz, clean energy expert with the council. “Today’s decision by the PUC demonstrates that they agree with the hundreds of Mainers who have asked for a thorough and thoughtful review of CMP’s rate increase request.” 

Bartlett noted that CMP’s request for a permanent rate increase is still pending. Tuesday’s denial, he said, doesn’t mean there will be no increase in the end.

“This is a delay, but it’s not a ‘no,’” he said.

Bartlett said it was too early to discuss the overall rate increase request in detail, but suggested it was likely some sort of increase would happen – not nothing, but probably less than what CMP wants. 

“It’s always somewhere in the middle,” he said.

Bartlett said the commission most likely would make its decision in April 2027. In the meantime, he said, the public is welcome and invited to submit written comments via the commission’s website.