Versant Energy has acquired citations for greater than 50 places suspected of internet hosting unlawful marijuana develop homes, the utility firm mentioned — and now it's proposing a controversial tactic it says may assist determine these places extra rapidly.
Versant desires a rule change that will enable the corporate to report excessive power use to police in an effort to determine unlawful marijuana develop homes, legal professional Arrian Myrick-Stockdell mentioned throughout a March listening to with the Maine Public Utilities Fee.
“The purpose is we will determine the placement as rapidly as they will,” Myrick-Stockdell mentioned.
The federal authorities is cracking down on unlawful marijuana develop homes, with greater than 30 raids throughout the state to this point this yr. However Versant's proposal has been criticized by shopper privateness advocates who consider such a rule change can be unconstitutional.
“Utilities shouldn't do this. They’ve an obligation to guard the privateness of their prospects,” Jay Stanley, a privateness knowledgeable on the American Civil Liberties Union, informed the Related Press whereas evaluating a utility that combs buyer knowledge to an unlawful community.
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