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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 25 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E Rising through the ranks, Ball now leads Maine's largest electric utility, serving more than 670,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. With more than three decades in the industry, one lesson has remained constant, Ball says. "I think one of the biggest lessons I've learned is the importance of lis- tening," Ball says. "Whether that's to employees here in the organization because they're really the experts on the grid or listening to customers and what they need or to the communi- ties we serve." Ball is the second woman to lead CMP, following Sara Burns, who served as president beginning in 1998, became CEO in 2005 and retired in 2017. While Ball recognizes the impor- tance of representation, she views being a woman leader as just one part of who she is. Her focus remains on ensuring CMP can safely and dependably serve communities. Ball points to technologies such as covered tree wire and automatic reclosers as examples of how utili- ties are improving reliability, particu- larly in Maine's heavily forested and rural communities. Covered tree wire helps prevent outages caused by tree contact, while automatic reclosers allow operators to remotely reroute electricity around damaged sections of the grid. Customers can have power restored within minutes through alternate circuits while crews are dispatched to assess the damage and make repairs safely. "We had an outage last win- ter and more than 7,000 custom- ers lost power all at the same time in a storm," Ball says. "ey had their power back on in three and a half minutes because operators in Augusta were able to see the grid, see the problem happen and flip a switch and detour power around that damaged section and restore power in three and a half minutes. at's pretty amazing technology that didn't exist years ago." As the industry evolves, Ball is focused on developing the workforce needed to support the grid of the future. rough high school appren- ticeship programs and other educa- tional partnerships, CMP is introduc- ing students to careers in the utility industry and helping build the next generation of skilled workers. Ultimately, her goal as a leader is to leave behind a stronger electric grid, a skilled workforce and more opportunities for Mainers to live and work in the state. at vision reflects her commitment to serving the customers and communities that depend on CMP every day. "Every house that I see with lights, every business that I see with lights, every traffic light or streetlight that I go under, that's CMP's respon- sibility," she says. Connections across borders When Erica Young became presi- dent of Versant Power in May 2026, she took the helm of a utility serving more than 165,000 residential and business customers across northern and eastern Maine. Versant is owned by Calgary-based ENMAX Corp., whose utility and energy businesses serve more than 1.2 million electric and natural gas custom- ers in Alberta, Canada. Before relocat- ing to Maine, Young served as executive vice president of ENMAX Energy and previously chief legal, commercial and regulatory officer, bringing decades of utility leadership experience to her new role. As president of Versant, she reports to Mark Poweska, ENMAX board chair, president and CEO. Young's path to the utility industry began as a lawyer in Toronto. While working on electricity sector transac- tions during a period of deregulation in Ontario, she became interested in the complex systems that keep power flowing to homes and businesses. V E R R I L L - L A W. C O M Guiding Maine Businesses Forward As Maine's largest law firm, Verrill helps businesses navigate what's next—with practical guidance and deep local insight. I think one of the biggest lessons I've learned is the importance of listening. Whether that's to employees here in the organization because they're really the experts on the grid or listening to customers and what they need or to the communities we serve. — Linda Ball Central Maine Power C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Erica Young joined Versant as president earlier this year. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y V E R S A N T

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