Committee pauses MMRECA review, seeks clarification on activity and funding

The House Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee reviewed the Maine Municipal and Rural Electrification Cooperative Agency on March 17 and agreed to pause its determination pending clarification of the agency’s status and a confusing line in the MMRECA filing.

Analyst Lindsay Laxon told members the agency reported it had not adopted vendor selection, contribution, or travel/meal policies and that the entity had advised the committee it has not been active in recent years. A line in MMRECA’s cover letter — "members of Dirigo participating in the agency fund all of the costs for their activities" — prompted multiple committee members to seek clarification: does MMRECA collect dues or otherwise fund activities through member utilities, or is the agency inactive while member entities fund separate activities outside the agency?

Representative Steve Foster and others said the line looks contradictory and asked staff to follow up with MMRECA contact Scott Hollowell to clarify whether the agency has current activities and how any costs are funded. Chair Melody Sachs agreed it was not enough to delay the entire review but that the line should be clarified in future filings; members asked staff to request clarification and to bring that information to a subsequent meeting.

The committee did not reach a final determination on MMRECA’s compliance with the statutory reporting requirements and will revisit the item once the agency supplies the requested clarification.