# Maine LD 897: An Act Regarding the Nonwires Alternative Process and Required Negative Pricing Provisions in Contracts for Energy Resulting from Competitive Solicitations Conducted by the Public Utilities Commission

Maine LD 897, An Act Regarding the Nonwires Alternative Process and Required Negative Pricing Provisions in Contracts for Energy Resulting from Competitive Solicitations Conducted by the Public Utilities Commission, is a 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by Mark W. Lawrence (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 681) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD897-132
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maine LD 897
- State: Maine
- Session: 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act Regarding the Nonwires Alternative Process and Required Negative Pricing Provisions in Contracts for Energy Resulting from Competitive Solicitations Conducted by the Public Utilities Commission
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-03-05
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 681
- Sponsor: Mark W. Lawrence (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: ELECTRIC UTILITIES, ELECTRIC UTILITIES - RATES
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (20 yes, 12 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Yearly grid planning and nonwires rules: benefit, low. Investor‑owned electric utilities must complete a yearly planning study for small grid projects. The study uses system models and looks five years ahead. It lists proposed projects and costs, shows capacity and load by substation and circuit, and flags growth‑related investments. The nonwires alter…
- Utilities not penalized for ignoring recommendations: cost, low. A utility is not presumed imprudent just because it did not adopt the nonwires coordinator’s recommendations. This protects investor‑owned transmission and distribution utilities from that presumption in planning and investment reviews.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Mark W. Lawrence (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-06 | Senate | ACCEPT REPORT 'A' OUGHT TO PASS AS AMENDED | pass | 20 | 12 |   |

## Actions (14)

- 2026-04-13: Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 681
- 2026-04-07: PASSED TO BE ENACTED, in concurrence. (Senate)
- 2026-04-07: PASSED TO BE ENACTED. Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House)
- 2026-04-07: Reports READ.On motion of Representative SACHS of Freeport, REPORT A Ought to Pass as Amended was ACCEPTED.The Bill was READ ONCE.Committee Amendment "A" (S-571) was READ and ADOPTED.Under suspension of the rules, the Bill was given its SECOND READING without REFERENCE to the Committee on Bills in the Second Reading.The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (S-571).In concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House)
- 2026-04-06: Taken from the table by the President ACCEPTANCE of The Report A Ought to Pass As Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (S-571) Report PREVAILED. Roll Call Ordered Roll Call Number 883 Yeas 20 - Nays 12 - Excused 3 - Absent 0 READ ONCE Committee Amendment "A" (S-571) READ and ADOPTED Under suspension of the Rules, READ A SECOND TIME and PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMENDED by Committee Amendment "A" (S-571) Sent down for concurrence (Senate)
- 2026-04-02: Unfinished Business (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Unfinished Business (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Unfinished Business (Senate)
- 2026-03-26: Unfinished Business (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Unfinished Business (Senate)
- 2026-03-24: Reports READ. Senator LAWRENCE of York moved to ACCEPT The Report A Ought to Pass As Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (S-571) Report. On motion by Same Senator Tabled until Later in Today's Session, pending ACCEPTANCE The Report A Ought to Pass As Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (S-571) Report. Unfinished Business (Senate)
- 2025-06-25: CARRIED OVER, in the same posture, to any special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 800. (Senate)
- 2025-03-21: CARRIED OVER, in the same posture, to the next special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 519. (Senate)
- 2025-03-05: Received by the Secretary of the Senate on March 5, 2025 and REFERRED to the Committee on ENERGY, UTILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 (Senate)

## Bill text

- Amendment C-A (S-571), adopted by House & Senate: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0386&item=2&snum=132)
- Enacted: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0386&item=4&snum=132)
- Introduced: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0386&item=1&snum=132)

## Related bills

- LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program (failed)
- LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement (failed)
- LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families (failed)
- LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (failed)
- LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State Employees (failed)
- LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit (failed)

## Sources
- [Amendment C-A (S-571), adopted by House & Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0386&item=2&snum=132)
- [Enacted (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0386&item=4&snum=132)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0386&item=1&snum=132)

## Related
- [LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1522-132)
- [LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD2067-132)
- [LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1665-132)
- [LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retiremen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1872-132)
- [LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1611-132)
- [LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1294-132)
- [Maine bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine/bills)
- [Maine state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD897-132 (as of 2026-10-19).