Maine PUC Decides Against Union, Gives Meter Project Green Light

There was quite a bit of interest in this story when we first posted it. Here’s the resolution.

When Central Maine Power Company (CMP) unveiled its planned rollout of smart meters to 600,000 customers, an electrical workers union argued that the meters could mean 141 employees might be laid off. The Maine PUC has sided with the utility.

The PUC concluded that the Smart Grid metering technology CMP plans to adopt will cut the utility's operating costs, enhance customer service and overall efficiency, speed up service restoration after weather-related outages and give customers the choice of getting time-of-use rates.

CMP won a $96 million Smart Grid Investment Grant to help pay for the two-year $190 million advanced meter rollout.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1837 criticized the CMP plan, saying it would eliminate jobs rather than create them. Job creation, of course, is the fundamental reason for the Recovery Act stimulus grants.

A union spokesman said layoffs would curtail other services meter readers provide while making their rounds, such as watching for downed power lines and home break-ins.

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