Solar_Saves t1_jca4v55 wrote
The only people that will save (make!) money off of this buyout are the banks which finance it and lawyers that write the paperwork.
We the people that purchase electricity won’t save a penny in delivery costs, remember that CMP just owns and cares for the hardware that delivers electricity, they don’t make electricity.
Those who created this initiative did so because of CMP’s customer service ratings, but have not released any plans on how they would improve CS ratings. I believe that if this purchase goes through, they will hire some bidder to run the company…
No guarantees of any improvements, just a whole lot of bullsh!t procedures that will make lawyers rich as they process the changeover and some currently unknown entity (low bidder) will be hired to run the corporation.
Better the devil you know than the devil you have no idea about, wasting millions of dollars to process the change of ownership…
Supabee78 t1_jcadf8m wrote
I moved from South Carolina where we had a public owned co-op. We got better service and cheaper bills than the Duke Energy households. When the public owns the utility there are no shareholders to pay and you are not trying to make a profit. It is not a hard concept to understand.
Solar_Saves t1_jcah9bm wrote
How much did it cost to purchase the assets that made up the co-op? Or was the co-op created to install and service the electricity delivery hardware from the get go?
Did the co-op also produce the electricity? CMP doesn’t produce the electricity so there would be no savings on the electricity itself. Nor do we know if there would be any savings…
It would most likely take several years and millions of dollars spent (paid to lawyers, not Maine’s citizens) to make the purchase. And since they are going to farm out the running of the resultant quasi-governmental entity to some currently unknown bidder, there are no guarantees that customer service and/or servicing their grid assets will remain the same or improve or if there would ever be profits!
To succeed this project should state
- who will run it,
- how they will improve the customer service experience,
- what profits, if any, should the State of Maine expect?
Otherwise this issue is too open ended to approve.
Supabee78 t1_jcal0li wrote
I am not going to explain the history or how to when it comes to power co-ops. Blue ridge electric didn’t produce power but maintained the lines and delivered. Google is your friend. Maine already has some power co-ops.
Solar_Saves t1_jcapgrt wrote
But this over $15 billion buyout is nothing like any single SC co-op has ever done. The fees alone for this buyout would probably dwarf the revenue of most of SC’s co-ops. Then there is securing the $15 billion of securities to pay for it, and right now the cost of borrowing is up. If Revenue Bonds are used, any profits would be payments for the bonds, not otherwise available for the state of Maine’s coffers until bonds get paid off.
There are no guarantees of anything improving, the who, what, why and when of the purchase and any improvements aren’t known.
Beginning-Worry6507 t1_jcgrq2x wrote
You can find the full text of the ballot measure here.
To answer questions not covered, you can talk to residents who live in Maine communities who already have publicly owned electricity.
Solar_Saves t1_jcamo2c wrote
“The 20 distribution electric cooperatives in South Carolina deliver dependable electric power to 800,000 accounts in South Carolina” As well as 3rd in the country nuclear power supply.
Looks like South Carolina’s electricity business is a lot different than Maine’s, so the economics would be different as well. I doubt if any SC co-op had to takeover and buyout over $15 billion of assets to be created. That should not be a hard concept to understand.
Supabee78 t1_jcb95w0 wrote
Are you one of those people that believes socialized medicine would be more expensive as well? Yes it is an investment but we can’t continue on the path we are on. We are going to be installing wind and solar at our home because of the ridiculous energy prices here. We are lucky that we can afford to do so. The delivery fees CMP charges is more than what an electric bill should be. You are being fleeced and you are denying it. I can’t help you understand how a public utility is better than a private for profit utility. BTW those electric co-ops were take overs by the local communities because they were being robbed. Do more research or live in your delusion. South Carolina is too red to allow a massive takeover of the power grid, it would help too many people. It is why we moved out of it.
Solar_Saves t1_jcbdw2f wrote
No. My healthcare is taken care of, thank you very much and that’s how it should be for everyone in the country.
Just saying that the proposal gives no guarantees, no cost estimates, no savings estimates, no info on who will run it, or who might have the expertise to improve CMPs customer service.
Tell us how this takeover will improve life for Maine and CMP’s customers and how much it will cost. A little estimation and analysis would go far. As an Analyst I want to see their analysis of the proposed buyout. Would you buy any business without knowing total cost, loan or bond payments and payoff, estimated profits, and so much more that should be considered for a buyout.
Right now it seems like the people organizing this endeavor want blank checks to do whatever they want, without supplying any estimates of money or time.
You, and they, say things will improve. Then I am looking forward to their commercials with information showing us all how things will improve. Until then it is all hot air! Prove it- give us examples of previous takeovers, their costs and timelines and how they relate to this proposal.
Supabee78 t1_jcbinuf wrote
So here is my final word. I don’t trust CMP at all. They are fighting to make everyone think it is a bad idea. They are spending millions on ad campaigns to tell you so. They offer high prices to just deliver the energy. Whenever someone that has been proven to be shitty all of a sudden is trying to show you how bad the fix is, there is a reason. Over the years it was done by tobacco with cancer and the oil/gas industry when it came to lead. So I will go with the other team because the status quo isn’t working.
Solar_Saves t1_jcbmx4j wrote
My final word is that the writers of this initiative have given nothing to go on, for us to trust. But say “trust us to do this”… We’ll put company management out to bid… they aren’t even saying that it will save customers money.
Who are they, what’s their experience doing this, how much money will they make if this passes? How can one trust in an unknown entity and undefined process, with unknown costs and outcomes? Co-ops can be as badly managed as any corporate entity, and they don’t tell us who or how they will manage a CMP Co-op, or how much it will cost us.
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