NFIB Sounds Alarm Against State Takeover of Maine’s Power Companies, Urges a No Vote on Question 3

October 12, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

Small business owners strongly opposed

NFIB Sounds Alarm Against State Takeover of Maine’s Power Companies, Urges a No Vote on Question 3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUGUSTA, ME (October 12, 2023) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Maine and nation’s leading small business advocacy association, today announced its opposition to the creation of a state public power authority that would take over private energy companies and urged voters to vote No on the proposal next month. The issue is Question 3 on the November 7th statewide referendum ballot. “The cost of electricity has long been a concern among Maine small business owners, and passage of this ill-advised power referendum would create a new state power utility that will add potentially ruinous new bureaucracy, liabilities, disruptions, and ultimately higher energy costs for Mainers.” said NFIB State Director David Clough. “Small businesses in particular would be vulnerable to potentially crushing new costs and energy instability at a time of record challenges to their survival. NFIB members in Maine are strongly opposed to a public power authority that would replace the independent Central Maine Power and Versant companies in the private energy distribution market.” “Maine small business owners are concerned about the high cost of a forced takeover of CMP and Versant, potentially more than $13 billion, the disruptive effects on reliability and customer service during a transition period, the interjection of politics as a public power company becomes governed by publicly elected directors, and the potential for legislative interference in the pursuit of political goals at the expense of economic growth,” continued Clough. NFIB Maine will work to educate voters about the impact a Yes vote on Question 3 would have on the energy costs and security of all Maine ratepayers and especially small businesses, many of which are already being hit by higher labor and operational costs, as well as persistent inflationary costs not seen in more than 40 years.

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For 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

Topics:

Taxes

State:

Maine

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