Politics
Our political journalists are based in the Maine State House and have deep source networks across the partisan spectrum in communities all over the state. Their coverage aims to cut through major debates and probe how officials make decisions. Read more Politics coverage here.
President Donald Trump’s plan to levy 25 percent tariffs could lead to higher electric bills for nearly 60,000 Maine ratepayers along the Canadian border, a watchdog said.
Although the precise consequences of any trade battle are still up in the air, typical residential customers in Aroostook and Washington counties whose power is imported from New Brunswick would see an average increase of up to $7 on their monthly bills, Public Advocate Bill Harwood told the Legislature’s energy committee in a Tuesday memo.
The higher prices would serve as a tangible consequence of Trump’s aggressive trade policies and affect parts of the state that have backed him in his three elections since 2016. Trump, who began his second term Monday, had threatened to immediately enact tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico, but he has now indicated they may come on Feb. 1.
The effects would trickle down to 58,000 ratepayers in Aroostook and Washington counties served by four utilities that annually import about 600,000 megawatt hours of electricity from New Brunswick, according to Harwood’s office.
Using data from the utilities — Versant Power, Houlton Water Co., Van Buren Light and Power District and Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative — and their nonprofit grid operator, Harwood’s office estimated a 25 percent tariff would collectively cost those ratepayers between $8 million and $10 million a year.
Harwood acknowledged a “lot of uncertainty” remains with what Trump could do and how New Brunswick Power, the Canadian province’s primary utility, would pass on any new costs.
“We’re all in a dark tunnel with a weak flashlight trying to figure this out,” Harwood said in an interview Wednesday.
Data show New Brunswick in 2024 provided power to 100 percent of Versant’s Maine Power District customers in Aroostook County and part of Penobscot County and around three-quarters of Versant’s Bangor Hydro District customers in several other counties.
A New Brunswick Power spokesperson did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. Versant Power spokesperson Judy Long said because the Maine utility does not own or control sources of electricity supply, it isn’t “in the best position to provide information and feedback on the pricing.”
Maine Public Utilities Commission spokesperson Susan Faloon said power from the Canadian province serves an estimated 1.5 million megawatt hours at a cost of about $165 million for standard offer service throughout Maine, with that amount and price varying each year.
Regarding Harwood’s note to lawmakers, Faloon said the commission otherwise “can’t really comment on the information in the memo” until there is more clarity on Trump’s plans.
