Westinghouse Shallenberger ampere-hour meter, ca. 1897
Item 74514 info
Maine Historical Society
Over time, investors acquired and combined small firms, expanded their territories, and created what we now call "the electrical grid."
As electricity came to be seen as a necessity, government stepped in, regulating the supply and distribution of power to ensure equity in rates and access to power for all.
Today, electricity in Maine is distributed several small local utilities and four major ones – Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., Central Maine Power Co., Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, and Maine Public Service. Central Maine Power Co. alone comprises more than 130 former companies such as gas distributors, street railways, and community power and light companies.
By its 60th year in 1959, CMP had 225,000 customers. Since 2000, the major utilities no longer own generating capacity, but take bids from the many companies that maintain power stations in Maine and beyond.
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