FORM 8-K



               SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
 
                     Washington, D.C.  20549



                         CURRENT REPORT



              Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                  Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                   Date of Report: April, 1999


                   MAINE PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY            
      (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



              Maine                1-3429          01-0113635      
    (State, or other jurisdiction (Commission    (IRS Employer
         of incorporation)         File Number)  Identification No.)


          209 State Street, Presque Isle, Maine      04769  
         (Address of principal executive offices)  (Zip Code)


      Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code  207-768-5811


Current Report, Form 8-K for                              Date of Report
Maine Public Service Company                              April, 1999

Item 5(a)  Other Material Events - Maine Public Utilities Commission Issues   
           Order Approving Sale of Generating Assets

           Reference is made to the Company's Form 10-K for December 31, 1998, 
           where the Company's efforts to divest of its generating assets in  
           accordance with Maine's restructuring law are discussed.  On July
           7, 1998, the Company reported that it had agreed to sell all of its 
           generating assets to WPS Power Development, Inc. (WPS-PDI) for $37.4 
           million.  On August 7, 1998, the Company filed with the Maine
           Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) for approval of this sale.

           In an earlier order approving the Company's divestiture plan, Docket 
           No. 97-670, the MPUC noted a number of concerns regarding sale of 
           the assets. Principal among these concerns is whether the Company's 
           lack of any connection to New England electrical markets, except   
           through the Province of New Brunswick, Canada (NB) and the         
           transmission system owned by the Maine Electric Power Company (the 
           MEPCO line) presented unique issues concerning development of an   
           adequate competitive retail market for electricity in northern Maine 
           and directed the Company to address these concerns when it filed for 
           approval.

           On January 29, 1999, the Company filed a Partial Stipulation in this 
           Docket.  Under the terms of this Stipulation, the parties agreed 
           that access to northern Maine's electrical markets exclusively
           through the transmission of the New Brunswick Power Corporation (NB 
           Power) and the MEPCO line "is no longer a substantial barrier to the 
           development of an adequate retail market for electricity in northern 
           Maine" and that any market power issues in northern Maine should not 
           prevent the MPUC from approving the sale of the Company's generation 
           assets to WPS-PDI.

           The basis for this Stipulation is a Products and Service Agreement 
           reached in principal between NB Power, on the one hand, and the    
           Company, Houlton Water Company, Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative,
           Inc. and the Van Buren Light and Power District (collectively, "the 
           northern Maine utilities"), on the other (the "P&SA").  Under this 
           Agreement, NB Power agrees to supply: (i) tie-line interruption
           service, on a firm or non-firm basis, to any northern Maine utility 
           requiring it; (ii) ancillary services to any northern Maine utility; 
           (iii) transmission services through NB to any northern Maine utility 
           at a fixed rate that can be increased only by authorization of the 
           proper NB regulatory authority; and (iv) bona fide offers of
           energy and capacity and other electric products and service to any 
           customer of any northern Maine utility.  It is understood that     
           northern Maine utilities will transfer these services at cost to
           competitive electricity providers.
   


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Current Report, Form 8-K for                                     Date of Report
Maine Public Service Company                                     April, 1999


           In its April 5, 1999 Order, the MPUC approved the Company's sale of 
           its generation assets to WPS-PDI.  The MPUC noted that the P&SA    
           "mitigates market power to a significant extent and, as a result, it 
           is reasonable to allow the sale of MPS assets."  The MPUC expressly 
           did not decide whether the sale could proceed in the absence of the
           P&SA.  

           As of this date, NB Power has not executed the P&SA.  The parties  
           have discovered a misunderstanding concerning the terms under which
           NB Power would offer some of the ancillary services.  All parties 
           are attempting to reach a common understanding on these terms.  MPS 
           expects the parties will be able to reach agreement on these
           issues, but cannot predict the outcome with full certainty.  The   
           Company cannot, moreover, predict whether NB Power would sign the  
           P&SA absent agreement on those remaining terms.  The Company
           does believe that NB Power's refusal to execute the P&SA would cause 
           the MPUC to reconsider its approval of the sale to WPS-PDI, but    
           cannot predict the result of any such reconsideration.

Item 5(b)  Other Material Events - Maine Public Utilities Commission Issues   
           Order Approving Stipulation Under Rate Stabilization Plan.

           Reference is made to the Company's Form 10-K for December 31, 1996 
           where the Company's rate stabilization plan approved by the Maine  
           Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) (Docket No. 95-052) in
           November, 1995 is described.  In addition, the Company's Form 10-K 
           for December 31, 1998, describes a January, 1998 Stipulation 
           approved by the MPUC in Docket No. 97-830, which established the  
           rate increase beginning February 1, 1998 and the minimum rate      
           increase effective February 1, 1999.  The Stipulation also  
           prescribes that the savings from the restructured                  
           Wheelabrator-Sherman (W-S) Power Contract would offset Maine Yankee 
           replacement power costs.  For the final year of the rate plan      
           beginning February 1, 1999, the Company filed on November 13, 1998, 
           with the MPUC for a 6.4% increase.  The Company also stated that it 
           would forego part or all of this 1999 increase if the sale of its  
           generating assets was allowed to go forward.  On December 15, 1998, 
           the MPUC granted the Company's request to defer the increase to 
           April 1, 1999, as well as extend the rate plan by one month to     
           February 29, 2000, to coincide with the start of retail competition 
           in Maine.

           In its April 6, 1999 Order, the MPUC approved a March 25, 1999     
           Stipulation between the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA) and the 
           Company.  Under this Stipulation, customer rates will not increase
           on April 1, 1999, if the MPUC approved the sale of the Company's   
           generation assets as described in Item 5(c) above.  The approval of 
           the Stipulation also resolved certain issues associated with the   
           treatment of capacity cost
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Current Report, Form 8-K for                                 Date of Report
Maine Public Service Company                                 April, 1999

            savings from the closure of Maine Yankee under the Company's      
            rate stabilization plan.

           The principal provisions are as follows:

           1)   The Company is entitled to a 3.66% specified rate increase as 
           of April 1, 1999.  Rather than increase customer rates, the Company 
           will recognize the revenues that this increase would have
           generated and, correspondingly, record a deferred asset on the     
           Company's books of account.  The parties to the Stipulation also   
           agreed to recommend the use in rates of available value from the
           asset sale corresponding with the specified rate increase once the 
           MPUC determines the Company's allowed stranded cost recovery in    
           Docket No. 98-577, Public Utilities Commission, Investigation of   
           Stranded Costs, Transmission and Distribution Utility, Revenue     
           Requirements and Rate Design of Maine Public Service Company.

           2)   The Stipulation also resolves a dispute over the determination 
           of Maine Yankee replacement power costs.  The Stipulation allows the 
           Company to continue to recognize and defer Maine Yankee replacement 
           power costs on an energy-only basis, offset by Wheelabrator-Sherman 
           contract restructuring savings, through the end of the rate plan. 
           The Company agreed to begin amortizing on April 1, 1999, Maine 
           Yankee replacement power costs in the amount of $150,000 per month 
           or a total of $1,650,000 for the remaining eleven months of the rate 
           plan.

           3)   With the Commission's approval of the generation asset sale, as 
           discussed in Item 5(a), the parties agreed that the Company would 
           not increase retail rates on April 1, 1999, to reflect any increase 
           under the Maine Yankee replacement power provisions of the rate 
           plan.  Any Maine Yankee deferred replacement costs will be deferred, 
           and, beginning on March 1, 2000, will be offset by a corresponding 
           amount of available value as allowed in Docket No. 98-577.
                                                        
                                            MAINE PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY
                                                     Registrant


Dated: April 9, 1999                        /s/   Larry E.LaPlante            
                                            Larry E. LaPlante, Vice President,
                                            Finance, Administration & Treasurer








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