A group that wants to prevent the creation of a publicly owned power company in Maine has submitted signatures to the state calling for a referendum to halt the project.
The group is called No Blank Checks and is supported by the parent company of Central Maine Power, which is the largest utility in the state. The group’s petition calls for a ballot question that could require consumer-owned utilities to receive voter approval before taking on more than $1 billion in government debt.
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A ballot question about creating a publicly owned utility can lead to confusion if you share a ballot with a measure that contradicts it.
The request for a ballot question sets up a scenario in which there could be clashing referendum questions on the issue in November, the Portland Press Herald reported. A competing group, Our Power, wants to force Central Maine Power and its parent company to sell their assets to a new consumer-owned nonprofit utility. Our Power submitted signatures for its own referendum in the fall and they have already been certified.
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The No Blank Checks referendum would stop Our Power’s plan if both questions pass on the ballot in November.
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Our Power representatives have called their initiative an opportunity to put power in local hands. Representatives for No Blank Checks said their proposal would prevent Mainers from unknowingly going into billions in debt.
