A Monday storm in Maine resulted in a power outage so great its Board of Environmental Protection postponed a vote on electric vehicle mandates Thursday.
Rain across 14 of Maine's 16 counties resulted in floods and an emergency order from Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME). Affected counties lost power as trees fell on power lines and towers were knocked over. While Central Maine Power was able to restore 92% of its customers by Thursday evening, BEP opted to postpone its meeting indefinitely.
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BEP had a vote slated on an electric vehicle mandate for Thursday. The board was inviting residents to Augusta, Maine, to offer comment ahead of the vote. However, the Kennebec River, which runs through the city, flooded and made travel there difficult on top of the power outage.
The rule in question would mandate that 43% of new car sales for 2027 be zero-emission EVs and then increase that mandate to 82% by 2032. Republican lawmakers have shown their opposition to the rule, issuing a letter asking the board to reject the proposal, which did not come from the state legislature, altogether.
"Setting aside concerns about the petition process that allowed this, the decision by BEP to proceed with the petition is incredibly alarming since this seismic shift will hurt our economy and risks our rights of mobility," Republican state Sen. Lisa Keim said of the mandate before the vote was postponed. Keim speculated that since not all car makers produce EV models, entire brands will be banned from selling cars in Maine.
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The U.S. Department of Energy put out a press release last month "correcting the record about electric vehicle sales" to point out a decrease in EV prices by about 20% in June from the year prior. The department said consumers should also consider "lower maintenance and fuel costs" in their purchase decisions.
Some 112,421 plug-in vehicles were sold in November, over a 30% increase from November 2022. When it came to light-duty vehicle purchases nationwide, EVs made up just under 10%.