AUGUSTA, Maine (WGAN) A bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers has signed off on a letter urging Maine’s Public Utilities Commission to investigate claims made in a lawsuit against Central Maine Power’s parent company.
The suit was filed last week by the Pennsylvania-based Security Limits Inc. and its CEO, Paulo Silva. It claims that Avangrid Networks, which owns CMP, engaged in bid-rigging, racketeering, and buying unnecessary equipment to justify rate increases for customers.
Avangrid denied the claims and said Silva, a former subcontractor for the company, was bitter over not getting new contracts. They’ve filed a defamation lawsuit in response.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Republican State Rep. Nathan Carlow, a member of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, wrote a letter to the Maine Public Utilities Commission urging them to investigate the claims in the suit.
The letter was co-signed by Sen. Richard Bennett of Oxford and Rep. Jennifer Poirier of Skowhegan as well as Rep. Seth Berry of Bowdoinham and Rep. Nicole Grohoski of Ellsworth. They’ve called for an investigation to determine if Maine ratepayers were impacted by the actions alleged in the suit.
The PUC said Monday they would be following the case, but have not indicated whether they will launch their own investigation.
