John -
As you may have heard by now, the ballot initiative in Maine to establish the nonprofit Pine Tree Power utility company did not pass on Tuesday.
While we’re disappointed by this loss, we also have a lot to be proud of and energized by.
The Pine Tree Power campaign educated hundreds of thousands of Mainers about the savings, reliability, and climate benefits of consumer-owned utilities. Over 2,000 individual donors contributed to the effort. Dozens of 350 members made calls and knocked on doors. While the grassroots campaign was outspent 37:1 by Central Maine Power and Versant, we still managed to secure 1 in 3 votes.
This also made national news and brought many thousands more people from out of state into the fight, showing the path for how our utilities could be structured.
That is a testament to the heart and soul that organizers, volunteers, and coalition partners put into this ambitious effort to establish the country’s first statewide consumer-owned utility. And it’s a testament to the strong public support for alternatives to corporate utility companies. Just last week, Data for Progress released polling that shows 68% of voters across the country support having a publicly owned utility provider.
The Pine Tree Power campaign has trailblazed a path for public power campaigns across the country to take on the for-profit utility companies that are blocking our transition to renewable energy while raising rates on working families.
The movement for public power is just getting started.
Onward,
Team 350
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PO Box 843004, Boston, MA 02284-3004
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