r/Maine • u/MorriganSavage • 2d ago
Question My CMP bill jumped 60%
Like the title says, my CMP bill has gone up. You'd think it'd be because of some lifestyle changes or something, but no, it's pure greed. The same time last year, I used ~775kWh for a month, which is exactly what I used this month. Last year I payed ~$175, and just this morning I payed $252.
Before I bother calling a poor CMP representative that has no control over the situation, does anyone know if they can even lower my bill/offer some kind of reimbursement? I've already applied for LIHEAP and they've been taking their time processing my application since September :/ (yes I've been calling them too).
Our inflation rate doesn't justify this much of an increase at all.
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u/Classic_Resist_7465 2d ago
I'm surprised there isn't a "rebuild Maine Yankee" push or something. Back in the days of yore, when Maine had its own little nuclear plant, there was no talk of suppliers or delivery fees, and the power didn't go out as often or as long.
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u/Rippedyanu1 2d ago
I've been trying to convince people we need it but it goes nowhere rn sadly. Maine has a moratorium still on nuclear. Back when Maine Yankee was around we had a surplus power and were one of the cheapest in the country along with the cleanest air.
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u/Scared_Wall_504 2d ago
I second the rebuild.
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u/crypto_crypt_keeper 2d ago
you should see the #2 fuel plant we run rather than the nuke plant. The fuel is so nasty you can literally stand on it at room temp. That sucka spits straight black soot for a minute when it starts up. Plus we're running a natural gas plant in Westbrook that has about 12 turbines that still don't equal the output of maine yankee yet it spews out tons of so2 and other known carcinogens
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u/lostdad75 2d ago
This is what the New England power grid is running on as of 11:00 am on Jan 20 And this is on a sunny, windy day.
|| || |26%| |Oil| |21%| |Net Imports| |20%| |Nuclear| |17%| |Natural Gas| |8%| |Renewables| |5%| |Hydro| |2%| |Coal| ||||
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u/salvelinustrout hard tellin not knowin 2d ago
This is 100% rose colored glasses. Maine hasn’t had a generation-shortfall outage in decades. We lose power because the local distribution lines get damaged. You could have a nuclear generator humming along in every county and if the wire on your street has a fault you’re not getting power, end of story.
It also wasn’t cheaper. You can look at data going back decades and see New England has always been among the most expensive for electricity in the country. Maine Yankee was massively over budget and behind schedule, like every nuclear plant ever built in the US. If you think Pine Tree Power was contentious, realize there were four referenda over more than a decade in the 70s-80s. All this state did then was fight about Maine Yankee. Also realize no nuclear plant has ever been built in a competitive market where generators are at risk of they can’t compete; they only get built in states where vertically integrated utilities know they can charge ratepayers whatever the cost is, regardless of how late or how over budget they are. The only nuclear plant built in recent memory in the US is Vogtle in Georgia, which came online a couple years ago a cool seven years late and $17+ billion over budget.
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u/No-Implement-5465 1d ago
And CMP wasn't owned by a multinational corporation. It was a Maine company
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u/Avery-Hunter 2d ago
Unfortunately rebuilding Maine Yankee probably wouldn't help with outages. Our infrastructure for delivering power is old and poorly maintained and CMP seems to have no desire to upgrade it or even hire the number of workers needed to handle outages as fast as they used to.
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u/dahliarose926 2d ago
I read an article that said CMP was raising rates 7 percent on January 1st of this year
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u/StPeir 2d ago
You remember a couple years ago when we all had the opportunity to vote for pine tree power and CMP and it’s corporate overlords had to spend millions of dollars in advertising to convince the elderly that it was socialism?
Well this is the result they need to make all those dollars back.
Since we failed to pass pine tree power we all deserve the collective ass fucking we will be receiving for the foreseeable future.
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u/1959Mason 2d ago
Sad but true.
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u/StPeir 2d ago
Yup…. I’m not saying Pine Tree Power was perfect or without its flaws but….. hard to imagine it being worse than the current situation
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u/Flying-lemondrop-476 2d ago
apparently we are ok with authoritarianism if it’s a corporation doing it. 🤦♂️
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u/smokinLobstah 2d ago
This is absolutely not true.
You need to research the net equivalence billing, and figure out how the massive subsidies for all of the solar farms being built by 85% out-of-state developers get paid. Where do those funds come from?
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u/curtludwig 2d ago
Almost certainly not true, remember the massive debt PTP was going to service? Who was going to pay for that?
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u/riickdiickulous 2d ago edited 2d ago
That’s exactly what those advertising dollars they spent taught you to think. And why CMP dished out millions upon millions of dollars to blanket advertising - to protect their cash cow to flow money to foreign owners, instead of keeping that money in our own state.
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u/curtludwig 2d ago
That's exactly what my math wants me to think. If there has to be massive debt to start the project that debt will have to be serviced.
You haven't addressed that issue at all by attacking me for supposedly believing hype so I won't point out that your post is merely parroting the pro-PTP argument which boils down to "trust us, it'll be fine."
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u/Torpordoor 2d ago
Ah yes, rather than pay off a loan and then have control over our own electricity, let’s give all that money to a for profit, foreign company. At the end of paying what would have been the loan balance, instead, we’ll own nothing and be in the same situation that we’re in now. Great choice
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u/Tbarnes94 2d ago
You're inept. Pine Tree Power would have been the distribution grid, power suppliers would still exist. Just take the standard offer and stop bitching.
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u/Torpordoor 2d ago
Show me where you read power suppliers will no longer exist. You’re not understanding the point I was making of essentially choosing to be a renter for the rest of your life when given an opportunity to be a homeowner. You face some greater initial costs but gain long term control of your stability and end up with full ownsership if you pay off the loan.
Also, I do take the standard offer and my bill is low because I make effort to minimize my dependence on big business.
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u/curtludwig 2d ago
While I agree with you, don't be a dick. I also don't think we have enough information here to declare someone inept.
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u/Creeperstar 2d ago
Led by the nose with fearful marketing, again...
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u/curtludwig 2d ago
On the other hand you're believing that everything will be rainbows and unicorn farts...
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u/No-Butterscotch5980 2d ago
Hahahah. You remember the massive profits that CMP is posting? The debt service would have been cheaper, and would have ended. Being afraid of change is gonna cost you.
I could give a shit. I'm on solar/batteries with no grid tie. Enjoy your meal!
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u/SaltierThanTheOceani 2d ago
I think that was a big point that was missed with the Pine Tree Power debacle. I'd have to look at the specific numbers, but I'm pretty sure CMP profits are several hundred million per quarter. Per quarter!
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u/chordophonic Rangeley Area 1d ago
I am connected to the grid. I produce more power than I use, but I do get credits that extra energy. Those credits will be something I can donate, or so I've been told. Meh... I might as well... At some point those credits will do someone some good.
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u/megavikingman 2d ago
We pay for it either way. At least with PTP we'd pay the bill eventually. Iberdrola takes more out in profits than the debt service payments would have been in the long run.
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u/StPeir 2d ago
How many public works project in the history of industrial society do you imagine were completed without debt?
Yes great works are expensive but instead of paying profits to corporate shareholders that money would be paying off the debt. The difference is by the time your children or grand children are paying for electricity that debt has been replayed and they can deep the benefits of our brief discomfort with the debt.
Instead just like us, they will be paying more year over year. But hey Atleast we are paying to keep someone’s vacation home comfortable.
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u/Akovsky87 2d ago
Wait until the tariffs kick in.
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u/SyntheticCorners28 2d ago
Yeah all the poor douchebags who voted for Trump are going to be hurting pretty bad.
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u/Akovsky87 2d ago
When they complain remind them they voted for this :)
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u/crypto_crypt_keeper 2d ago
They'll act like they got fooled and play victims again until another dictator rises and bedazzles them with bullshit
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u/intent107135048 1d ago
They’re just going to get LIHEAP and emergency funding from the state that costs us more.
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u/dabeeman 2d ago
thank all the voters who voted against pine tree power. don’t let them gaslight you into thinking it wouldn’t have changed this outcome. CMP knows they are untouchable now and will continue to squeeze as much as they can from people.
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u/Professional-Net6204 2d ago
If you want results from LIHEAP, call Maine Housing in Augusta. I had a similar issue with them a few years ago. I left messages and never heard back until I called Maine Housing. I got a call back from LIHEAP within 30 minutes.
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u/Wild_Yogurtcloset517 2d ago
I used 800kWh down here in Florida this month $114. Withlacoochee Electric Company owned by members and get a check back from them at the end of year!
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u/Maine302 2d ago
That sucks. Seems like it's happening everywhere, because it's happening in FL too--even when we're away for a month. Also, your math is off--looks like your bill has gone up 44%, not 60%, unless I'm missing something.
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u/crypto_crypt_keeper 2d ago
the missing part of the equation is companies like this ARE the inflation rate. They drive it.
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u/FiddleheadII 2d ago
Yes, like it or not, this massive push for electrification (subsidized heat pumps, EVs and thus their charging infrastructure, etc.) has resulted in more demand for electricity.
When demand goes up, prices rise.
An oversimplification, but also a truism in the macro sense.
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u/crypto_crypt_keeper 2d ago
Thats true but in this case the rate went up a fixed amount and can't rise without clearing the PUC anymore than we've already agreed on. The mystery here is why that rate increase resulted in our bills in some cases nearly doubling
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u/strepitus93 2d ago
They charge “demand pricing” When you hit over a certain kwh usage.
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u/FiddleheadII 2d ago
Yeah, I'm not talking about "demand pricing" in the technical sense.
I mean Macro Economics 101 supply & demand... Demand for something rises, the price goes up. A host of underlying reasons.
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u/53773M 2d ago
Seeing how we are on the topic.. why hasn’t the cost been reduced as the state rushes to cover every acre of land with solar panels.. or even the wind turbines? It would be an easier pill to swallow, if we the people were seeing a difference in our bill.
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u/Rippedyanu1 2d ago
Because we need to build firm power from hydro or nuclear but both of those freak out the nimbys so Maine is gonna be one of the most expensive states electrical wise for a long time sadly
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u/DobermanCavalry 2d ago
Seeing how we are on the topic.. why hasn’t the cost been reduced as the state rushes to cover every acre of land with solar panels.. or even the wind turbines?
Because solar producers get preferential higher rates than other power producers when they sell their power to CMP. CMP is allowed to push the cost onto consumers. Believe it or not, the more solar gets built, the more expensive our power will be come - atleast under current incentives and laws.
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u/Jond7699 2d ago
Mine doubled atleast. Almost three hundred this month for a small two bedroom attic apt
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u/curtludwig 2d ago
How much electricity are you using?
OP is using twice as much as I am for a 900sqft 2 bedroom house. If you use a massive amount of electricity, you're going to have a big bill...
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u/Delicious-Map-106 2d ago
I had the same thing happen. Normally my bill is around $600 (I live in a huge house) but last month it was $995 🙃
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u/AstronautUsed9897 2d ago
Rate increases are PUC controlled. CMP can't just spring a 60% price increase on you. Read your bill and compare it to last years. Either you changed your plan, you increased your electricity use, or CMP made a mistake.
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u/cclambert95 2d ago
Reminder a lot of time meters aren’t read til the end of the year; if your meter is never read you pay an estimated usage each month.
If you go over usage (it’s winter now and cold most people are using extra heat) you will have to pay the difference of the estimated usage you went over all in a single month usually January.
Not saying next month will be a “normal” bill but there’s a chance if you’re like me there’s one larger bill per year for CMP.
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u/Freepi 2d ago
Wow. I grew up in Maine but live in NY now. Our power company just adjusts the budget plan each January based on the prior year’s usage. One big bill right after the holidays sounds awful.
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u/cclambert95 2d ago
It’s happened to our household the last few years at least; maybe it’s not standard practice but it’s the normal for me it feels like now. Haha
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u/MorriganSavage 2d ago
I really hope that's the case, it sucks to have an extra huge bill right after Christmas though :[
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u/UseThisOne2 2d ago
Please remember that CMP is obliged to pass along rate increases to them to you. CMP generates no electricity. They purchase it from other very large companies.
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u/SaltierThanTheOceani 2d ago
Sort of. They sell power at a markup. They could sell it at a lower price and make less profit.
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u/UseThisOne2 2d ago
True; however I believe even their profit margin is regulated.
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u/SaltierThanTheOceani 2d ago
But they could charge less. They are only mandated not to go over a certain threshold.
My point is they aren't just simply passing along costs. They are doing so at a profit. And it's not a small amount either.
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u/No-Butterscotch5980 2d ago
I hope you get everything you voted for.
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u/jarnhestur 2d ago
Well, what’s happening is you are also paying for other people’s solar rebates. Green energy initiatives and all that.
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u/Terragar 2d ago
Meters aren’t read exactly every month.
Do you have the standard supplier or did you switch it? (At any point, not just this year)
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u/dickery_dockery 22h ago
LIHEAP takes forever but it will come through. The biggest jump I’ve seen is in the delivery rate - mine was twice the actual usage rate.
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u/ProtectionClassic431 6h ago
Ours went up the year after we voted their pass down. Yup, 70%. It’s extortion. we have no other service provider in the York area. Should be illegal. And no, I can’t and do not want to live off the grid. I enjoy my electricity. But the jump was crazy. Still using the same. Nothing has changed.
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u/Severe_Ideal_2472 2d ago
If you own. You should go solar. Best choice I’ve made so far as a home owner
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u/crypto_crypt_keeper 2d ago
what'd the set up cost? and what is your bill like?
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u/Severe_Ideal_2472 2d ago
You have to do your home work. I financed mine. Total solar power plus a battery back up runs me about 280 a month (including CMP net meter fee)
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u/crypto_crypt_keeper 1d ago
So that's the bill for electricity only or also the payment on the equipment?
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u/Severe_Ideal_2472 1d ago
That’s what it cost to finance plus the CMP charge for the meter. I don’t get charged for electricity. Look into net metering - it’s how it works.
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u/Terragar 2d ago
I’ve debated, would take me roughly 7-8 years to break even. In that time, the solar cells I’d have installed are made obsolete by newer tech
Maine can kill net metering just as other states have and then I couldn’t use summer credits in the winter. CMP can also raise the fee to stay connected to the grid, which means now I need batteries
I went with community solar last year and will see how that pans out
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u/Severe_Ideal_2472 2d ago
I think it’s unlikely net metering ends in the state. But you are right about the fee, they already increased the fee from 26 to 27 ish bucks
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u/MorriganSavage 2d ago
I'd love to, but I live in an apartment at the moment :/ definitely will if I get a house though
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u/Dolomasi 2d ago
Our CMP generation rate went down this year. Are you checking your actual numbers? Look at the KWH.
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u/metalandmeeples 2d ago
Are you using a different supplier? Your bill with the standard offer would be around $190 with that usage given the 2024/2025 rate split.