Westbrook Mayor Kenneth M. Lefebvre recently proposed that the city form a munic

Westbrook Mayor Kenneth M. Lefebvre recently proposed that the city form a municipal utility, a concept that raises interesting legal questions about for-profit utilities being operated as monopolies and the right of those utilities to recoup the huge investments made while servicing a franchise area. A federal court has used the Sherman Antitrust Act in ruling against a public utility that refused access to its power lines by a competitor. Federal regulators and the Maine Public Utilities Commission are currently considering issues that will affect the Westbrook proposal. Details, related articles