AUGUSTA, Maine — Did Central Maine Power improperly use ratepayer money to influence decisions by city officials in Augusta on behalf of Maine Natural Gas? The Maine Public Utilities Commission has voted unanimously to investigate allegations to that effect made by the City of Augusta. Both CMP and Maine Natural Gas are owned by a subsidiary of the Spanish energy giant Iberdrola.
Augusta city officials say CMP personnel — including company president Sara Burns — acted on behalf of Maine Natural Gas in an unsuccessful bid to win a contract with the City of Augusta last year. PUC spokesman Harry Lanphear says the agency will review what actions were taken and decide whether those actions were appropriate under PUC rules.
"CMP is ratepayer-funded through electricity rates, and so in certain cases they cannot spend money doing something directly for Maine Natural Gas and that's what we're going to explore," he says.
Once the investigation is complete, Lanphear says the commission could decide that nothing wrong was done, require corrective actions or issue a fine.
A CMP spokesperson has said that the allegations mis-characterize its involvement in the case.