A hundred and fifty-seven dollars a month for a typical Maine power bill. Up seventy-two percent. So which lines on that bill actually moved? It's Power Bill. Maine's public advocate just pulled that bill apart, gas on one side, poles and wires on the other. And I want to know who's been paying for which. Here's Peter McGuire at Maine Public:
According to the analysis, a typical residential bill for a Central Maine Power customer increased 72% in the last six years, to $157 per month. Almost half that increase —$30 — was due to increases in electric supply prices, largely due to surging natural gas prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
When the commission said no to CMP's temporary hike, that covered about seven dollars. Now Maine's public advocate has laid out how much was already sitting on the bill before that fight even started. So let's take it in pieces. A typical CMP residential bill is $157 a month, up 72% in six years. About thirty dollars of that increase is supply, mostly natural gas after 2022. That's a pass-through. It rides the fuel market straight onto your statement, and nobody votes on it line by line. And then there's the eighteen dollars of distribution, poles and wires. Gas could fall next spring and you'd still be paying for every one of those upgrades. Chair Bartlett called the overspending a problem of CMP's own making. Fine. Here's what it costs a household, every month. I wouldn't hang the whole climb on CMP, though. Sanborn's point is that no single bucket explains it, and her office ranks renewables, community solar included, as the smallest driver. Gas and grid spending are two separate fights. Kimberly Adams and Emma Condon, writing in WUSF:
But it's been consecutive; every time, we know that they will. There's also something called pass-through costs and other surcharges, which have pushed up prices faster than household incomes.
Thaddeus Williams, in Florida, holding up his February bill. Per WUSF, he's fallen behind before but hasn't been disconnected. Yet. That's the whole margin he's living on. WUSF's team puts Florida bills up as much as 70% over ten years. Maine, the piece we just hit, was 72% in six. Different states, same shape. A rate case every three years or so, and on top of that, pass-through costs and surcharges the reporting says have outrun household incomes. And a surcharge gets approved in a hearing room that a renter paying two or three hundred bucks a month has never heard of. So who was actually in that room? Utility lawyers, sure. Who was sitting there for him? WUSF's reporting raises questions about commission oversight and utility profits, and I'd keep those on WUSF until there's a finding. What I'll say flatly is that each surcharge is its own line, each one small, and almost nobody adds them up. Which is sort of the point of breaking them out. This one's from Young Research:
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects winter energy costs to vary significantly depending on the heating fuel households use. More than 40% of U.S. homes that rely on electricity are expected to see their heating bills rise about 4%, while households using heating oil could face the largest increase, with spending projected to rise 21%.
Four percent sounds small until you picture who's paying it. A little electrically heated apartment, low usage, fixed monthly charge already on the bill before the heat even kicks on. That bump lands on the one part of the bill they could ever control. And remember, this is an EIA forecast. No commission approved it. More than 40% of electric-heat homes, spending up about 4%. Heating oil, up 21%. U.S. distillate exports jumped 20% this year, a lot of it to Europe, and inventories are sitting about 11% below the five-year average. Now here's the piece to hold next to Maine. Natural gas users are forecast to spend 9% less this winter. So if the supply line on your bill doesn't budge when gas gets cheaper, ask your utility why. And Ohio's reconnect window opens October 12th. Behind on your bill? That's your date. Which is where I'd put the pressure. Who's already behind going into the cold? Because I'd take a guaranteed winter shutoff pause over another forecast any day. If you're enjoying Power Bill, please subscribe or leave a review wherever you're listening. Reviews help other people find the show, and they help us keep bringing you the news that matters.
Links to every story are in the show notes, so you can follow up on whatever caught your attention today. That's Power Bill for today. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next episode. This is a Lantern Podcast.