That's $165,385 per INDIVIDUAL charger
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ev charger line
Maine to Spend $8.6 Million Installing (fossil-fueled) 52 EV Chargers Across 17 Locations Statewide
Cumberland and Penobscot Counties received the bulk of the new charging stations, coming in at seven each. The remaining three stations are to be located in Franklin, Oxford, and Piscataquis Counties.
One business is projected to see an increase of 1,600% in its annual solar tax costs
Maine’s businesses (and residents) are about to be hit with massive cost increases — in some cases of more than $50,000 for 2024 — thanks to a scheme devised by state lawmakers to subsidize solar power.
According to letters sent to customers by Versant Power, Maine’s second largest electrical utility, the portion of small business’ electrical bills described as “stranded costs” is set to increase from 2023 to 2024 anywhere from 20 percent to as much as 1,644 percent.
“A new, fixed monthly stranded cost dee is under review and would capture expenses and incentives to develop Maine’s renewable power generation and net energy billing programs,” Versant Power informed businesses in the rate hike letters.
Under the net energy billing program, Maine’s electrical utilities collect increased fees from residents and businesses, and that money is then used to subsidize the installation of so-called “community solar.”
In practice, the net energy billing scheme turns the utilities into tax collectors for the state — and bill collectors for the solar industry.
The price hikes coming for Maine businesses vary according to the customers rate class and level of electricity usage, but a review of several of the Versant letters shared with the Maine Wire shows that one business will see the stranded cost portion of their annual electrical bill spike from $24,419 to an estimated $77,261 — a 216 percent increase.
A smaller business with far less annual power consumption is looking at an increase from $196.75 to an estimated $3,432 — an increase of 1,644 percent.
Those costs only account for the annual increases in stranded costs, which is a small slice of the total annual electrical costs.
[RELATED: Solar Industry Wins State House Fight to Protect Windfall Profits…]
According to the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA), which was created to advocate on behalf of rate payers, the solar subsidizes may increase electricity costs state-wide by as much as $220 million in 2025.
According to an analysis of electricity prices in paid for June 2024 by USA Today, Maine already has the sixth highest electricity costs in the country.
According to a 2023 analysis of Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) records, the vast majority — 88 percent — of the companies profiting from the solar subsidies were headquartered outside of Maine.
If the rate hike requests are approved, businesses and residents will begin paying more for their electricity beginning in July.
Just as Biden cancelled the XL Pipeline on his first day in office to signal the start of his war on oil, it wasn’t surprising that Maine’s new Democrat governor also signalled her intentions on taking office by ordering the removal of her predecessor Paul’s LePage “Open for Business” signs along Maine’s highways.
