Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Bethel, ME: what to set up and who to call
New voters sign up with the Bethel Town Clerk, which runs Bethel’s elections. Spectrum is the only wired internet provider that reaches most of Bethel.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Bethel, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Bethel.
Power comes from Central Maine Power
Central Maine Power (Central Maine Power Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Bethel. Its homes paid an average of 27.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $147 a month (its average across Maine, for customers on its standard service). Maine lets you buy power from another supplier; 8% of Central Maine Power’s home customers do, and Central Maine Power still delivers it.
Start or move service: cmpco.com · (800) 750-4000
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Bethel Water District
Bethel Water District supplies Bethel: about 26% of residents live in its service area. About 74% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 1,813 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 4.9 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 92% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. ME0090160.
4 home internet providers serve Bethel
82% of 1,772 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 36% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 74% | 1,000/1,000 |
| FirstLight Fiber d/b/a Oxford West Telephone Company | Fiber | 34% | 1,000/1,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 51% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 17% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Bethel’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Bethel.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Bethel is in School Administrative District 44.
CSchool gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Oct 2026; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Bethel spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Bethel residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Bethel | ZIP’s residents in Bethel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04217 | Bethel, ME | 98% | 75% |
| 04219 | Bryant Pond, ME | 2% | 3% |
A few homes fall in 04286.
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Bethel
Who supplies Bethel’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Bethel Water District (EPA ID ME0090160). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 4.9 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Bethel?
Central Maine Power (Central Maine Power Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 27.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Bethel?
Spectrum, FirstLight Fiber d/b/a Oxford West Telephone Company, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Bethel?
04217 (98%), 04219 (2%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Bethel in?
School Administrative District 44.
How do I register to vote in Bethel?
In Maine you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 21 days before). Elections here are run by the Bethel Town Clerk. Check your registration at maine.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.