As a longtime Mainer, I’m very concerned about the November ballot question to create a state power authority. I can’t imagine anything more dangerous. If it passes, we’ll be waiting years for the new government agency to be created and for the price tag to be hammered out in the courts.

What is certain is that Pine Tree Power will be a government bureaucracy making all the decisions about our power grid. We’ll get a huge debt burden that we’ll have to pass along to our kids and grandkids. That’ll get us to a point where lawmakers will need to decide whether to raise taxes or cut services so they can cover the state’s debt and interest payments.

Added to Pine Tree Power’s obvious risks and costs are all the unintended consequences of a plan that’s never been implemented on this scale around the country. Right now, I’m planning to vote “no” on the Pine Tree Power ballot question this November. There are way too many unknowns, and what we do know is scary.

Perry Cahill
Portland

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