by Dave Sherwood | February 17, 2017
AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee voted unanimously Friday to launch a preliminary inquiry into Maine PowerOptions (MPO), a little-known quasi-state program that brings together hundreds of municipalities and school districts to help them buy...
by Dave Sherwood | February 2, 2017
AUGUSTA — For the first time in 16 years, the staff of Maine PowerOptions appeared before lawmakers Thursday to answer questions about how the quasi-state program brings together hundreds of municipalities and school districts to help them buy electricity. The hearing...
by Dave Sherwood | January 10, 2017
AUGUSTA — After a scandal at the Maine Turnpike Authority in 2011 landed its director in prison on theft charges, Maine lawmakers of both parties vowed to increase supervision of such quasi-state agencies. Operating on behalf of the public but managed more like...
by Dave Sherwood | January 10, 2017
GARDINER — Finance Director Denise Brown knows how to shop for a bargain. Budgets here are always tight, and Brown prides herself on stretching the dollars of the city’s 5,800 taxpayers as far as she can. But shopping for electricity is always a headache. “I’m just...
by Dave Sherwood | January 10, 2017
Following deregulation, which forced municipalities, school districts and other state nonprofits to shop the open market for electricity just like homeowners or private businesses, several other northeastern states have formed groups similar to Maine PowerOptions. New...