Governors' Wind Energy Coalition Plan to replace Maine’s private utilities moves forward Source: By Associated Press • Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2021 AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Maine legislative committee voted Tuesday in favor of a proposal to replace a pair of power companies with a consumer-owned electric utility. The proposal by Democratic Rep. Seth Berry would create an independent nonprofit organization called Pine Tree Power Company to replace utilities Central Maine Power and Versant. The Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee voted 9-2 in favor of the proposal. Supporters of the proposal, including Berry, have said Maine suffers the worst and longest outages in the country and also has the 10th highest rates in the U.S. Berry said the creation of Pine Tree Power would “allow us to control our own money and our own energy destiny.”