Fox Islands Electric Cooperative

Vinalhaven Light & Power Company provided electricity for the islands for much of the 20th century. Power for the residents was produced through diesel generators. During a special town meeting in October 1974, the residents voted to organize a cooperative by an 80% majority. The cooperative bought Vinalhaven Light & Power from owner Herb Peterson. Grant Duell was elected president of the cooperative. Two years after the foundation, the cooperative laid a 10-mile submarine power cable with the support of a loan from the Rural Electrification Administration. The cable connected North Haven to Central Maine Power Company’s lines on the mainland in Rockport. The cable was put into use in 1977 despite protests by scallop fishermen.

The undersea cable became increasingly unreliable over the decades and was replaced in May 2005. Funding for the new cable was provided through a loan and grant from the US Rural Utilities Service and provided an infrastructure whereby power could be exported back to the mainland as well as imported to the islands.