(The Center Square) — Maine lawmakers are being urged to provide more financial relief for low-income energy consumers with the state’s electric costs set to increase this winter.
A new report from the state’s Electric Ratepayer Advisory Council prompted Public Advocate William Harwood to call on the state legislature to increase funding for the low-income assistance program, which provides financial relief for qualifying families. He said the program is underfunded by about $70 million.
“We should never put consumers in the untenable position of having to choose between paying their utility bills and providing needed food and medicine for their family,” Harwood wrote to lawmakers.
In the report, researchers detailed that nearly 100,000 low-income households in Maine are struggling to afford their electricity bills, and many have fallen into arrears with their utility companies. The report makes nearly two dozen recommendations, ranging from tapping into state money to increasing rates for all of the state’s consumers to support low-income households.
The report’s authors also recommend expanded public education to make low-income families aware of programs to help them pay their bills and consider a plan to automatically enroll Mainers who qualify for state and Medicaid-backed health insurance.
Harwood “hopes the Legislature and policy makers will carefully consider these recommendations and seriously address the crushing burden today’s high electricity prices have on low-income consumers.”
Maine has some of the highest energy costs in the nation, and low-income households spend, on average, roughly 8% of their income on electricity costs, according to the report. That’s more than double the level recommended by consumer advocates.
Meanwhile, prices for food and housing are still high amid the lingering pinch of inflation. The average household must spend $493 more per month to buy the same amount of goods or services as of last year, Harwood noted.
Electric utilities are prohibited from disconnecting electric service because of unpaid bills between mid-November and mid-April. A bill signed by Gov. Janet Mills in March bans utilities from charging reconnection and late fees to low-income customers.
The state has also provided direct financial relief to energy consumers. In 2023, the Mills administration sent out one-time payments of $450 to more than 880,000 eligible residents to offset energy costs, skyrocketing last winter amid turbulence in the global oil market. The state also pumped millions of dollars into its fuel assistance programs, which receive federal funding.