LIMESTONE, Maine – The Maine Public Utilities Commission has opened an investigation into sharp water rate hikes imposed by the Loring Development Authority. The investigation comes in response to complaints by 10 residents and business owners at the Loring Commerce Center.
The Maine PUC approved the new Loring water rates, which went into effect Oct. 1, although customers will not be expected to pay those rates until Jan. 1.
Under the new rates, the authority will charge $471.30 per quarter for at least 900 cubic feet of water usage, whereas the 2016-era rates charged $40 or 4 cents per cubic foot, whichever was greater, for up to 1,199 cubic feet and an additional 40 cents for each additional cubic foot above 1,200, according to the authority’s proposal to the Maine PUC. Other rates will go up based on the size of their home or business’s water meter, according to Loring’s PUC documents.
At a recent authority board meeting, customers alleged that they were not given proper notice of public hearings about the proposed rate increases. Many said they were unaware until receiving a notice in the mail.
Tim McCabe, co-owner of The Bunker Inn at the commerce center, is the lead signer of the group’s petition to the Maine PUC, which they submitted on October 23. Maine PUC opened the case and made all documents public Friday.
In his letter, McCabe said that he and others did not have proper notice of public opportunities to discuss and question the new rates.
“We also ask that the PUC put the new rates on hold so that we do not have to pay higher bills until this complaint is investigated,” McCabe wrote.
McCabe told Loring leaders in October that he and wife Sandy would be forced to pay an estimated $5,340 every three months, four times a year, to the authority for water usage, rather than the current $1,700 per quarter bill.
At the time, Loring Development Authority president and CEO Jonathan Judkins said that the new rates were necessary because water rates had not been updated since 2016. With the current rates, the authority cannot keep up with water expenses, which currently total $990,200, Judkins said.
Other signers of the petition include Loring residents Theresa Woodworth, Rachelle Perreault, Elaine Akerson, Gail Isabel and B.B. Hredocik. Also named are Brittni Basu, co-manager of the Manser Drive apartments at Loring; Polly Chike, president of Loring Air Museum; Thomas Ayer, co-owner of CircleB Farms, which operates a broccoli processing facility at Loring; and Mark Appleton of British Cycle Supply.