Maine regulators reject utility proposal to report suspected marijuana grow operations to police

Maine utility regulators have unanimously rejected an electric utility’s proposal to proactively report high consumption that signals an illicit marijuana growing operation to law enforcement officials. The state’s second-largest electric utility floated the idea to aid police cracking down on operations hidden inside rural homes that are being investigated for ties to transnational crime. But the three-member Public Utilities Commission cited concerns Tuesday about customers who use large amounts of electricity for legitimate reasons being reported to police. Commissioners said it’s best to stick with the status quo of utilities providing consumer data only when presented with a law enforcement subpoena that was vetted by a judge.