Other New England states back Maine’s RTO adder complaint

New England states are pushing federal regulators to strip Maine utilities, including Central Maine Power, of an extra fee they collect for belonging to the region's grid operator, ISO New England. That fee, a 0.5% bonus on the return utilities earn, was meant to encourage voluntary participation in these regional grid groups. But Maine now requires its utilities to join, so the states argue the bonus no longer makes sense and just adds cost to electric bills. In 2024, this extra charge added about $6 million in costs across New England, with Maine customers covering roughly $700,000 of that.

Maine isn't alone. Connecticut and Maryland have filed similar complaints after passing their own laws requiring utility participation in regional grids, and New Jersey has a similar law as well. The utilities involved argue the states are overstepping into territory that belongs to federal regulators, and a utility trade group warns that pulling the incentive could create uncertainty just as more investment in the power grid is needed.

For homeowners, this fight is about a small slice of what shows up on electric bills: transmission charges, which help pay for the wires and equipment that move power across the region. New England's transmission rates are already among the highest in the country. If regulators side with the states, utilities in Maine, Connecticut, and Maryland could lose this fee, which might modestly ease upward pressure on transmission costs. Homeowners elsewhere in New England could see effects too, since the disputed fee is charged across the whole region, not just to customers in the state that passed the law.