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Standard Offer Frequently Asked Questions
The Maine law that created electric competition on March 1, 2000, provides that any customer who does not designate a Competitive Electricity Provider for their electric-energy supply will receive Standard Offer service arranged by the state.
Under terms of the law, we no longer sell electricity. We deliver electricity, maintaining and operating the more than 150 substations and 20,000-plus circuit-miles of power lines required to perform that service.
Electric bills now reflect separate charges for our delivery service, and for each customer's electricity supplier, whether a competitive provider or the Standard Offer. Combining supply and delivery charges on the same bill was determined to be a more convenient option for customers, rather than sending two bills for each month’s service. We will forward the payment for the supply charges to the appropriate supplier.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) accepts bids from competitive electricity suppliers to supply Standard Offer service for our customers who have not designated a competitive electricity supplier.
The Standard Offer price for residential and small business accounts is $0.073037 per kilowatt hour (kWh), effective January 1, 2020. This price will stay the same through December 31, 2020. From January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019, the Standard Offer price for residential and small business accounts was $0.090029 per kWh.
Standard Offer prices for medium and large customers vary by month. Details on these prices can be found on the MPUC website
These classifications are based on the level of peak demand for electricity. This rate classification can be found on the first page of your bill. Small customers (SGS) that have demand of less than 20 kilowatts (kW) and they do not pay a demand charge. Medium customers (MGS) have demands between 20 kW and 400, while large (IGS & LGS) customers have demands greater than 400 kW. Both medium and large customers pay demand charges.
The Maine PUC registers and maintains a list of energy providers. Customers can contact the PUC by phone at 207-287-3831, or online at Maine PUC.
