Nearly 3,000 Maine small businesses and nonprofits will soon receive a financial boost to help offset their increased energy prices.
Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday that 2,919 businesses and other organizations will have their electric utility accounts credited by more than $2,000 under a state program designed to provide relief from rising utility costs.
The measure, sponsored by Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Aroostook, was approved by the Legislature in April. Commercial customers of Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power were invited to apply for a credit last month. Three tiers of rate credits will go to businesses that are considered “medium-general service” customers and have seen significant increases in their electric bills.
Funding for the credits is coming from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, a Mills initiative funded by the federal American Rescue Plan.
The value of the credit is based on electricity use billed in February, when electricity prices spiked. About 97% of the eligible businesses will get a credit of $2,324, state officials said, and a few with higher electricity use will receive credits of either $4,648 or $6,197.
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