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This will be the very first time that most Maine households will have ever
considered buying electricity from someone other than Central Maine Power or
Bangor Hydro. We are excited to offer you a choice of where you get your
electricity - but we also understand that you may have many questions.
We have tried to anticipate some of your questions and to provide direct,
no-nonsense answers to these. If you click on any of the questions listed
below, you see an answer. If you have any other questions, please click on
"Contact Us", tell us what your question or concern
is and we will respond.
How do I know that I will get power from Maine Renewable Energy and not power
from someone else?
This is a good question and the source of much confusion. It will take a
little time to explain, but if you read through the answer, you will gain a
good understanding of how the electricity grid works.
We have found that a metaphor helps in explaining how the electric grid works.
Think of the electric grid as a big bathtub. This bathtub has many drains on
the bottom, each one representing one customer that uses electricity.
When the customer uses electricity, water is drained from the tub. Bigger
customers that use more electricity are associated with bigger drains, so as
they use electricity more water is drained.
This bathtub also has many different faucets along the top, each one
representing a generator of electricity. As each generator produces
electricity, the faucet associated with that generator turns on and water
flows into the bathtub. The bigger the generator, the more water that flows
into the tub when the faucet is turned on.
Now, because of the way electricity works, the voltage on the grid must be
kept constant - the metaphor is that the water in the tub must be kept at the
same level all the time. If the voltage increases because too many generators
are on relative the number of consumers that are using electricity - that is,
the water level in the tub starts to rise, motors and other appliances will
burn out. Conversely, if the voltage decreases - the water level in the tub
starts to fall, the electricity grid will "collapse" causing blackouts similar
to what happened way back in 1965 all along the East Coast.
Therefore, there has to be a way to manage the grid to ensure that just
enough electricity is flowing into the grid as is being used by consumers
during every second of every day. This job is given to the Independent System Operator or ISO. It is this agency's job to tell which of the faucets to turn on and how much to turn on to exactly offset the amount of water that is being drained out the bottom of the bathtub.
Now, go back to the faucets or generators. Each of these faucets is associated
with a different generator - for example, a nuclear plant, a coal plant, an
oil or natural gas plant, a hydroelectric station, a biomass plant ,a windmill,
etc. Assume that the color of those generators that use renewable fuels is
green and that the water that flows out of them into the bathtub is also
green. Conversely, let's say that faucets and the water coming out of the
nuclear plants are brown, the coal plants are black and the oil and gas plants
are all gray. The resulting color of the water in the bathtub will vary
depending on the mix of water flowing into it from the various faucets.
If more of the green faucets are turned on, the water will take on a greenish
appearance; if more of the brown and black faucets are turned on, the water
will look brown or blackish in appearance.
Let's now return to the question - how do I know I will get green power.
What Maine Renewable Energy does is guarantee that whenever one of our
customers uses electricity - that is, takes water out of the bathtub, a green
faucet - actually a hydro plant in Maine or wind generator - is turned on to replenish
the water that is taken out.
Think about what this means, because this is the source of much of the
confusion and misunderstanding about electricity. First, it means that the
electricity that a Maine Renewable Energy customer actually uses is not
distinguishable from the electricity used by any other consumer. Again, in
terms of our metaphor, the water being drained from the bathtub is the same
color no matter what drain it is coming out of - and that color is the
"average" color of all of the water being put into it from the various faucets.
However - and this is the important thing - it means that a Maine Renewable
Energy customer will make the water in the bathtub greener, since only those
faucets that meet our standards will be turned on when one of our customers
uses electricity. In contrast, when another household uses electricity, the
faucets that are turned on to replenish the water in the bathtub are those
brown, black and gray faucets and the overall color of the water becomes
"dirtier".
As you can see, the more people that use clean energy that comes from the
green faucets, the greener the water in the bathtub will be. And, if everyone
used water from green faucets, the water in the bathtub would become completely
green and would be completely "clean".
Thus, as a Maine Renewable Energy customer, you are helping to make the water
in the bathtub cleaner - that is, improve the quality of the air we breathe,
reduce the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, reduce smog and lower
the concentration of SO2, which causes acid rain.
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Is there a charge to switch to Maine Renewable Energy?
NO - There is no charge to switch to Maine Renewable Energy. We handle all of
the paperwork and enrollments for you.
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Do I need to call my utility to let them know I have switched and will they
need to come to replace my meter or anything else at my house?
NO- you do not have to call your utility. We will handle everything for you, and
NO- your utility does not have to come to your house to replace anything.
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Is the price that I will pay for Maine Renewable Energy fixed or can it
change?
The price of Maine Renewable Energy is fixed for the term of the contract you
sign and will not change.
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How will I be billed by Maine Renewable Energy?
Nothing will change in terms of how you are being billed. Maine Renewable
Energy will not bill you directly. Instead, we will bill you through your
utility - either CMP or Bangor Hydro. This way, you will continue to receive
only a single bill each month, and each month you will have to make only one
payment. When you pay CMP of Bangor Hydro, they will pay Maine Renewable
Energy for what you owe us.
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What happens if my power goes out - should I call you?
If your power goes out, you should do just what you have always done - you
should call your utility, either CMP of Bangor Hydro. Should your power go out,
the problem will be in the wires that deliver electricity to you. These remain
owned by CMP or Bangor Hydro, and it is their responsibility to deliver the
electricity to you.
For those of you that read about the bathtub metaphor in the first question,
it is Maine Renewable Energy's responsibility to put the water in the bathtub.
It is CMP or Bangor Hydro's responsibility to make sure that the water comes
out the various drains on the bottom and flows to your house. When your power
goes out, it will be because the drain system is not working properly - it will
not be because there is no water in the bathtub … unless, of course, the entire
Northeast experiences another blackout like the one experienced in 1965.
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If I buy my power from Maine Renewable Energy and not from CMP or Bangor
Hydro, will they come to fix my electricity or will they fix their own
customers first?
CMP and Bangor Hydro are utilities that are regulated by the Maine Public
Utilities Commission and are required by law to respond to all customer calls
for service in the same manner regardless of how the customers buy their
electricity. If they ever show any favoritism, they would be subject to very
severe financial penalties, not to mention lawsuits from customers.
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