“CCSA is incredibly disappointed at the Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications Committee’s decision to advance LD 1777. This bill represents a serious breach of trust with Maine ratepayers, communities, and the clean energy businesses that have invested hundreds of millions in the state. This bill is not a moderate, compromise reform — it is a backwards-looking rollback of Maine’s clean energy leadership that threatens to dismantle a successful market and set a dangerous precedent for the region.
Retroactive changes to project economics don’t just hurt solar companies — they jeopardize real clean energy jobs and ongoing local economic activity, undercut operational projects that are already serving Mainers, and throw the entire future of distributed energy development in Maine into question. Though this bill included important consumer protection measures we would be pleased to support, severe retroactive rate cuts and significant new charges to existing projects are poison pills that go too far.
If this bill moves forward, Maine will send a clear message that the rules can change in the middle of the game — a message no business (local or otherwise) investor, ratepayer, or community should accept. We urge legislators to reject this reckless approach and work toward constructive, future-facing solutions that uphold Maine’s climate, economic, and reliability goals.”