Maine regulators reject utility’s proposal to report suspected marijuana grow to police

Maine utility regulators have unanimously rejected an electric utility’s proposal to proactively report high usage that signals an illegal marijuana grow operation to law enforcement. The state’s second-largest electric utility floated the idea to help police crack down on operations hidden in rural homes that are being investigated for ties to transnational crime. But the three-member Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday cited concerns about customers using large amounts of electricity for legitimate reasons and being reported to law enforcement. Commissioners said it would be best to maintain the status quo of utilities only providing consumer data when served with a subpoena from law enforcement that has been reviewed by a judge.