Help Fix the Electric Low-Income Assistance Program

Help Fix the Electric Low-Income Assistance Program

Maine’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has proposed changes to modernize and simplify Maine’s Low-Income Assistance Program (LIAP), and your input is needed! Share your thoughts by October 6 to help make LIAP as effective as possible.

There are several proposed changes that AARP endorses:

• Raises eligibility to include households earning up to 150% of the federal poverty level who participate in any Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) means-tested program and automatically enroll eligible households already taking part in a DHHS program. AARP’s take: This expansion will help thousands more Mainers struggling to afford electricity, especially as energy costs rise.
• Discounts will be applied monthly on customer bills. AARP’s take: by replacing the current lump-sum benefits with predictable, ongoing (monthly) support, this will help families better manage household budgets.

We are recommending the following changes to better support Mainers on low and fixed incomes:

• Increase annual funding from $22.5 million to $30 million. AARP’s take: this arbitrary number does not reflect the actual need of Mainers who are struggling to pay their bills. The PUC should implement the Legislature’s mandate that the program fully fund the need of low-income customers to ensure affordable electric service. Our electric rates currently include the lowest amount of ratepayer funding for this program of any New England state.
• Discounts would apply only up to the average monthly usage and would not extend to usage beyond that. AARP’s take: this would unfairly reduce needed benefits for customers who may use more electricity due to their family size, older appliances, older (poorly insulated) homes, and/or those who install newer electric home heating systems.
• Utilities (CMP and Versant Power) would establish the discount rates for eligible participant income levels. AARP’s take: setting the benefit amounts must be transparent and should not allow utilities to determine bill discounts without public review and input.
  

AARP Maine will deliver our recommendations to the PUC based on our long-standing policies, and we would encourage you to do so as well. Click here to launch the PUC’s web page (https://www.maine.gov/mpuc/home) and then click on “Public Comments” near the upper right corner. From there, you will enter case number 2025-00241 to open the comment portal where you can share your thoughts with the Commission. The deadline for public comments is October 6, 2025.

Click to Raise Your Voice and Fix the Low-Income Assistance Program