BANGOR — Republican candidate for governor Bobby Charles unveiled a 12-point plan to lower electricity costs on Tuesday that includes removing Maine from a regional greenhouse gas coalition, ending solar subsidies and expanding a natural gas pipeline.
Charles said if Maine continues on its current trajectory, electricity prices will go from just under 30 cents a kilowatt hour to 47 cents by 2033.
“The affordability crisis in Maine is actually malpractice in energy policy,” he said.
Charles blamed Democrats, including Gov. Janet Mills, his opponent Hannah Pingree and those who have been in power at the Legislature for the last eight years. He said 300-400 bills have “fundamentally distorted the energy market in the state of Maine.”
Across the country, Maine ranks fourth in electricity prices, behind Hawaii, California and Massachusetts, according to electricchoice.com.
At an event in Bangor on Tuesday, Charles said he’s working with former Gov. Paul LePage’s energy adviser Jim LaBrecque, former Emera Maine President Gerry Chasse and Rep. Reagan Paul (R-Winterport) to craft a comprehensive energy policy.
Charles says Pingree, who served as head of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future for six years, bears some of responsibility for high electricity prices because of the state climate change plan known as “Maine Won’t Wait.”
The plan calls for the state to increase its reliance on renewable energy to 80% by 2030 and 90% by 2040.
Pingree’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but the Maine Democratic Party said in a statement that Charles’ support for tariffs and President Trump’s budget law increases costs for Mainers.
“If Bobby Charles was serious about lowering costs, he wouldn’t support Trump’s reckless agenda that includes higher prices for gas, groceries and healthcare,” said Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party. “A Charles governorship would be disastrous for Maine families’ pocketbooks.”
Charles said as governor, he would return the Maine Public Utilities Commission to a panel that provides more oversight of electric companies, phase out the Efficiency Maine Trust that provides subsidies for things like heat pumps, and stop efforts to remove four dams from the Kennebec River.
“The objective is affordable, reliable energy for the average Mainer, seniors on fixed incomes, young people who want to be able to afford homes, businesses that can’t afford to pay their energy bills,” he said.
According to her campaign website, Pingree is proposing to require the PUC to penalize utility companies for poor service and to create incentives to reward companies when rates go down, not up. Also, she’s proposing relief for moderate and low income households by expanding the availability of heat pumps, heating assistance and community solar programs.