LD 69, sponsored by Rep. Mickey Carmichael (R-Greenbush), would ultimately require power companies to disclose to customers more in-depth information regarding the standard offer, or the price of electricity generation accepted by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) after entertaining bids from various power producers.
The bill would direct the PUC to adopt rules regarding the standard offer disclosure labels provided to each customer via their monopoly transmission & distribution (T&D) company: Central Maine Power or Versant, which are separate from power generators. Today, these labels provide information on the mix of energy sources offered to customers of each T&D company, percentages denoting which generation companies contribute to it, as well the corresponding mix in the New England grid (ISO-NE) overall.
LD 69 would require that new disclosure labels specify the cost per kilowatt-hour for each energy source delivered, as well as the term for which the standard offer rate is applicable.
The standard offer rate is distinct from fees administered by T&D companies in that the standard offer denotes the cost to generate electricity, versus the costs associated with transmission and distribution.
Read the full bill here.