130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2021
Legislative Document No. 1634
H.P. 1218 House of Representatives, April 28, 2021
An Act To Create the Maine Generation Authority
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GROHOSKI of Ellsworth.
Cosponsored by Senator WOODSOME of York and
Representatives: BLUME of York, CUDDY of Winterport, Senator: DIAMOND of
Cumberland.
Printed on recycled paper
 1 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2 Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-F, sub-§19 is enacted to read:
3 19.
4 Maine Generation Authority Board Legislative Per Diem 35-A MRSA§4205
54
6 Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3210-H is enacted to read:
7 §3210-H. Maine Generation Authority surcharge
8 Notwithstanding any provision of this Title to the contrary, the commission shall
9 ensure that the Maine Generation Authority surcharge as calculated pursuant to section
10 4221, subsection 4 is included in the retail rates of all electric ratepayers of all transmission
11 and distribution utilities in the State.
12 Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA c. 42 is enacted to read:
13 CHAPTER 42
14 MAINE GENERATION AUTHORITY
15 §4201. Short title
16 This chapter may be known and cited as "the Maine Generation Authority Act."
17 §4202. Findings and declaration of purpose
18 1. Public interest. It is declared to be in the public interest and to be the policy of the
19 State to establish the Maine Generation Authority to issue revenue bonds that are backed
20 by all electric ratepayers in the State and paid for through rates established for delivery
21 service by the commission to achieve the purpose stated in subsection 2.
22 2. Purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to facilitate the financing and ownership
23 by the authority of:
24 A. Energy generation projects that are located in the State that generate electricity
25 using renewable fuels or sources of energy, including, but not limited to, solar, wind,
26 water, wave, tidal and biomass that produce zero greenhouse gas emissions or, for those
27 projects located in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine, are capable of delivering all
28 electricity generated into Maine in amounts sufficient to meet or offset residential and
29 business energy requirements; and
30 B. Electricity storage systems located in Maine that can store sufficient quantities of
31 electricity generated by renewable generation projects to enable the State's electricity
32 grid to meet total demands for electricity at all times in the State.
33 §4203. Definitions
34 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms
35 have the following meanings.
36 1. Authority. "Authority" means the Maine Generation Authority created in section
37 4204.
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 1 2. Board. "Board" means the Maine Generation Authority Board established pursuant
2 to section 4205.
3 3. Bond. "Bond" means and includes a bond or note or other evidence of indebtedness
4 authorized under this chapter, whether issued under or pursuant to a bond resolution, trust
5 indenture or loan or other security agreement.
6 4. Energy storage system. "Energy storage system" means a facility that achieves
7 commercial operations after January 1, 2022 that uses mechanical, chemical or thermal
8 processes for absorbing energy and storing it for a period of time for use at a later time.
9 5. Environmental attributes. "Environmental attributes" means any and all credits,
10 benefits, emissions reductions, offsets and allowances attributable to a renewable
11 generation project, the production of electrical energy from the renewable generation
12 project and its displacement of conventional energy generation, including:
13 A. Any avoided emissions of pollutants to the air, soil or water such as sulfur oxides,
14 nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other pollutants;
15 B. Any avoided emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,
16 hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride and other greenhouse gases
17 that have been determined by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
18 Change, or otherwise by law, to contribute to the actual or potential threat of altering
19 the Earth's climate by trapping heat in the atmosphere; and
20 C. Any reporting rights related to avoided emissions issued by the New England Power
21 Pool Generation Information System.
22 6. Gulf of Maine. "Gulf of Maine" means that part of the Atlantic Ocean extending
23 east from the shore of Maine for 200 nautical miles between 42 degrees north latitude and
24 45 degrees north latitude.
25 7. Interconnection transmission facility. "Interconnection transmission facility"
26 means a transmission line, together with all associated equipment and facilities, that is
27 constructed solely for the purpose of electrically and physically interconnecting a
28 renewable generation project or energy storage system to the transmission system of a
29 transmission and distribution utility.
30 8. ISO-NE region. "ISO-NE region" means the region in which the New England bulk
31 power system operated by the independent system operator of the New England bulk power
32 system or a successor organization is located.
33 9. New England Power Pool Generation Information System. "New England
34 Power Pool Generation Information System" means the generation information database
35 and certificate system operated by the New England Power Pool, as defined in section 4103,
36 its designee or successor entity, that accounts for the generation attributes of electricity
37 generated within New England.
38 10. Output. "Output" means any of the energy-related products produced by a
39 renewable generation project or energy storage system including energy, capacity and
40 ancillary services.
41 11. Renewable generation project. "Renewable generation project" means a facility
42 that achieves commercial operations after January 1, 2022 that generates electricity using
43 a fuel or source of energy that is renewable and that does not emit carbon dioxide when
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1 used to generate electricity, including hydroelectric generators, onshore or offshore wind
45
2 power installations, solar photovoltaic arrays and installations, geothermal installations,
46
3 tidal power generators and biomass generators that are fueled using sustainably acquired
47
4 biomass fuels.
5 12. Revenue fund. "Revenue fund" means a fund established by a resolution
6 authorizing bonds of the authority as the initial depositary for all operating income of the
7 authority and that may be used to pay certain operating expenses that are defined by bond
8 resolutions, before further transfers are made to funds for debt service, reserve maintenance
9 and general reserves.
10 §4204. Maine Generation Authority established
11 There is established a public body corporate and politic to be known as "the Maine
12 Generation Authority." The authority is an instrumentality of the State exercising public
13 and essential government functions and having perpetual succession. The exercise by the
14 authority of the powers conferred by this chapter is an essential governmental function of
15 the State.
16 §4205. Board
17 The authority is managed by the Maine Generation Authority Board as described in
18 this section.
19 1. Qualifications. The 8 members of the board are as follows:
20 A. The director of the Governor's Energy Office, established in Title 2, section 9, or
21 its successor, who is a nonvoting member and serves ex officio;
22 B. The director of the authority, appointed by the board pursuant to section 4206, who
23 is a nonvoting member and serves ex officio; and
24 C. The following 6 voting members, appointed by the Governor and subject to review
25 by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy and
26 utility matters and to confirmation by the Senate:
27 (1) Two members, one from each of the State's 2 congressional districts; and
28 (2) Four at-large members who are residents of the State.
29 2. Term. Except for initially appointed members, each member appointed by the
30 Governor under subsection 1, paragraph C holds office for 6 years or until a qualified
31 successor has been confirmed. Each term expires on March 31st of the last year of the
32 term. The terms of the initially appointed members must be staggered so that no more than
33 one term expires in any given year. A member may be reappointed.
34 3. Vacancy. The term of a member appointed by the Governor is vacated if the
35 member dies, resigns, becomes incapacitated, is removed for cause or no longer meets a
36 requirement under which the member was appointed. By majority vote of the remaining
37 members, the board may declare and bring to the Governor's attention any circumstances
38 creating such a vacancy. When such a vacancy occurs, the Governor may appoint a
39 member to serve only for the unexpired portion of the term vacated.
40 4. Removal. The Governor may remove a member appointed by the Governor from
41 the board only for gross misconduct. For purposes of this subsection, "gross misconduct"
42 means financial malfeasance, a deliberate or reckless failure to attend to duties required for
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1 governance of the authority or unexcused absences from 4 or more meetings of the board
44
2 in a 12-month period.
3 5. Chair. The Governor may appoint the chair from among members appointed to the
4 board by the Governor. In the absence of such appointment or if the position of chair is
5 vacated, the board may elect a chair from among the members of the board. The chair must
6 be appointed or elected for a one-year term at the board's annual meeting.
7 6. Annual meetings; quorum; action. The board shall convene annually at a meeting
8 held in September and more often as determined by the chair. Four voting members of the
9 board constitute a quorum. Four votes are required to act on any matter, although a lesser
10 number may adjourn a meeting.
11 7. Compensation. Voting members of the board appointed by the Governor are
12 compensated in accordance with Title 5, section 12004-F, subsection 19.
13 8. Executive director. At its annual meeting each September, the board shall appoint
14 or reappoint an executive director who is not a member of the board. An executive
15 director's first appointment is subject to review by the joint standing committee of the
16 Legislature having jurisdiction over energy and utility matters and to confirmation by the
17 Senate.
18 9. Secretary and treasurer. At its annual meeting each year, the board shall elect a
19 secretary and a treasurer, who may be the same person and need not be a member of the
20 board. The secretary and treasurer are responsible in their respective capacities directly to
21 the board and may be relieved of their duties only by the board. Before the issuance of any
22 bonds under this chapter, the secretary and the treasurer shall each execute a security bond
23 in the penalty of $50,000. Each security bond must be approved by the Attorney General
24 and conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of the secretary and treasurer.
25 The bond must be filed in the office of the State Auditor.
26 10. Compliance audits. In addition to retaining an annual auditor, the board shall
27 retain a separate compliance auditor who shall:
28 A. Periodically monitor the authority's financial operations and management controls;
29 B. Test selected transactions for policy compliance;
30 C. Make quarterly findings directly to the board and to the joint standing committee
31 of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy and utility matters;
32 D. Recommend to the board any necessary or advisable improvements to management
33 systems, policies or controls; and
34 E. Render an annual compliance and management report in conjunction with the report
35 of the authority's annual auditor.
36 §4206. Administration of the authority; director
37 1. Appointment of director; compensation. The board shall appoint, using a full and
38 competitive search process, a qualified full-time director of the authority. The director of
39 the authority serves at the pleasure of the board. The board shall establish the rate and
40 amount of compensation of the director.
41 2. Responsibilities of director. The director appointed by the board pursuant to
42 subsection 1:
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 1 A. Serves as an ex officio member of the board and as the liaison between the board
2 and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy and
3 utility matters;
4 B. Is responsible for:
5 (1) Establishing an office for the authority;
6 (2) Hiring and organizing staff for the authority and determining their
7 qualifications, duties and compensation;
8 (3) Managing the authority's activities, programs, services and staff; and
9 (4) Performing other duties as the board considers appropriate; and
10 C. May delegate to employees of the authority any powers and duties that the director
11 considers appropriate.
12 §4207. Powers of authority
13 The authority may:
14 1. Suits. Sue and be sued;
15 2. Seal. Have a seal and alter the seal at pleasure;
16 3. Personal property. Acquire, hold and dispose of personal property for the
17 authority's purposes;
18 4. Real property, rights or easements. Acquire in the name of the authority, by
19 purchase, eminent domain, lease or otherwise, real property and rights or easements therein
20 located in the State or in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine determined by the authority
21 to be necessary or desirable for its purposes, and use that property for the authority's
22 purposes;
23 5. Eminent domain. Acquire real property as described in subsection 4 by the
24 exercise of the power of eminent domain in the manner provided by section 4210;
25 6. Fees. Charge to and collect fees from all electric ratepayers in the State and use the
26 proceeds of such fees for the purposes provided in this chapter, both as subject to and in
27 accordance with such agreement with bondholders as allowed pursuant to this chapter;
28 7. Contracts. Make contracts with the United States or any instrumentality or agency
29 of the United States; another state or any instrumentality, municipality or agency of another
30 state, including multi-state entities composed of other state agencies; this State or any of
31 its agencies, instrumentalities or municipalities; public corporations or bodies existing
32 therein; private corporations; partnerships; associations; and individuals for the:
33 A. Construction of renewable generation projects or electricity storage systems;
34 B. Operations and maintenance of renewable generation projects or electricity storage
35 systems owned by the authority; and
36 C. Provision of support services to the authority, including energy planning, energy
37 market sales, energy contract review, accounting, legal and other types of
38 administrative services, including start-up funding;
39 8. Grants. Accept grants and the cooperation of the United States or any agency
40 thereof in the construction, maintenance, reconstruction, operation and financing of the
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1 authority and engage in any and all activities necessary to avail itself of that aid and
42
2 cooperation and repay any such grant or portion thereof;
3 9. Employees. Except as prohibited by section 4208, subsection 5, employ such
4 assistants and agents; engineering, energy, architectural and construction experts;
5 inspectors; attorneys; and such other employees as the authority considers necessary or
6 appropriate for its purposes.
7 10. Additional powers. Exercise any of its powers in the public domain of the United
8 States, unless the exercise of those powers is not permitted by the laws of the United States;
9 11. Debt. Borrow money, make, issue and sell at public or private sale negotiable
10 notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness or obligations of the authority for the
11 purposes set forth in this chapter and secure the payment of that obligation or any part
12 thereof by pledge of all or any of the operating revenues of the authority;
13 12. Loan or security agreements. Enter into loan or security agreements with one or
14 more lending institutions, including, but not limited to, banks, insurance companies and
15 pension funds, or trustees for those institutions for purposes for which bonds may be issued
16 and exercise with respect to such loan or security agreements all of the powers delineated
17 in this chapter for the issuance of bonds;
18 13. Interim certificates. Prior to the issuance of any bonds, issue interim certificates
19 in such manner and with such conditions as the authority may determine to be exchanged
20 for those