HALLOWELL, Maine (AP) - The Maine Public Utilities Commission voted Tuesday to investigate Central Maine Power Co. to discover if the utility issued disconnection notices during a period when utilities cannot be legally turned off.
Commission Chairman Phil Bartlett said this is not the first time the utility issued the notices between Nov. 15 and April 15. He said the utility was warned for notices sent last winter.
“They agreed that they would no longer distribute them, and so the concern now is that they are still in fact being distributed around the state,” Bartlett said.
Maine Public Advocate Barry Hobbins criticized the utility, calling their actions a “scare tactic” to pressure customers with past-due bills.
Officials with the utility said in a statement the company will comply with the investigation.
The statement also said “Based on recently expressed public comment and media coverage, the company feels there is clearly an opportunity to improve public understanding of the law as well as the goal of the company to have customers communicate with us if they are challenged in paying bills.”
Bartlett said commissioners will discuss the results of the investigation next Thursday.
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