Central Maine Power is being investigated by the Public Utilities Commission regarding metering, billing and customer communications after the PUC received hundreds, possibly thousands, of complaints regarding the high costs customers found on their CMP bills in January and February.

We brought one person's plight with CMP to the forefront when reporter Bill Pearson wrote an article in early February on Erik Carlson's wood pellet business in Boothbay ceasing operation due to high electrical bills, despite his constant negotiations with CMP. Our sister paper, the online Pen Bay Pilot, published a letter in mid-February from a customer in Camden whose usage doubled in one month according to CMP records, though the customer claims nothing changed with their usage.

The Facebook site, CMP Ratepayers Unite, has dozens of stories complaining about CMP's recent billing, poor customer service and problems with the company's smart meters.

We plan to continue the conversation about CMP's billing, interviewing legislators and others connected with the investigation. But, in the meantime, we want to hear from you and what you have experienced regarding your CMP bills and how you've dealt with them.

If you would like to have your story told, email us at news@boothbayregister.com or news@wiscassetnewspaper.com

Hopefully, a full investigation of CMP by the PUC, instead of "summary investigation," which is what the PUC is conducting now, is done so customers will know that their complaints haven’t been done in vain.

If you have a complaint about your CMP bill or service, call the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Consumer Assistance Hotline at 1-800-452-4699, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.