Emotions run high at Public Utilities Commission hearing on CMP

Outrage and even anger from customer's of Central Maine Power, at a hearing before the Public Utilities Commission Tuesday night.

Regulators heard hours of testimony at the hearing.

Many customers said they saw huge spikes .Others didn't get bills for months, while others complained about just a lot of confusion around the new rollout of a billing system.

Tuesday's hearing is a part of the investigation by the public utilities commission on CMP's customer service and just how accurate their billing is.

Frustrated customers vented: "We are outraged! This is ridiculous!"

"They said my cooking was causing the problem"

CMP's bills jumped from 250 a month to more than 1200 dollars a month at times."

I have thought can I hock my wedding ring can I pay for a bill this way I sold one vehicle.

A CMP spokesperson said: "The reason why we requested a rate increase is so we can hire more staff and to improve the reliability of the grid here in Maine. We intend to put more people out in the field working on the lines, we've hired more folks for our customer service area, and we have plans to strengthen and build resilience into the electric system here in Maine."

The PUC does find that CMP violated any rules it could mean tougher rules or even refunds for effected customers.

This is the first of three hearings this week. The next one is on Thursday at the University of Maine at Farmington.