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:  January, 1997


                      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

<PAGE>
Current Report, Form 8-K for                           Date of Report:
Maine Public Service Company                           January, 1997


Item 5.   Other Material Events - Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company 

          The Company owns five percent of the common stock of the Maine
          Yankee Atomic Power Company (Maine Yankee), which entitles it
          to purchase approximately 4.9% of the energy produced by the
          plant, approximately 35% of the Company's requirements in
          1996.  As reported in the Company's 10-Q dated November 12,
          1996, the Maine Yankee power plant has been limited to
          operating at 90 percent of capacity since early 1996 pending
          resolution of issues relating to investigations initiated by
          the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).  The plant has also
          been out of service since December 6, 1996, to resolve cable-
          separation and associated issues.  Having detected indications 
          of minor leakage in a small number of the plant's fuel rods,
          Maine Yankee has used this out-of-service time to inspect the
          plant's fuel assemblies and has determined that several fuel
          assemblies should be replaced.

          On January 29, 1997, the NRC announced that it had placed the
          plant on its "Category 2" "watch list", which includes plants
          that display "weaknesses that warrant increased NRC
          attention," but do not warrant a shut-down order.  The plant
          is one of 14 nuclear units in the United States on the January
          29 "watch list" and one of six listed there for the first
          time.

          The Company expects the plant to remain off-line until the
          fuel assembly replacement and a thorough inspection of the
          plant's electrical cabling are completed, and restarting is
          approved by the NRC.  The Company cannot predict how long the
          plant will remain off-line, and has made replacement power
          plans for an outage that could last several months.

          The Company has been incurring replacement power costs of
          approximately $170,000 per week while the plant has been out
          of service.  In addition, the Company is responsible for five
          percent of an estimated additional $30 million in operating
          costs, or approximately $1.5 million.  Further costs are
          expected when Entergy Corporation, recently selected by Maine
          Yankee's owners to manage the plant's overall operations,
          begins providing management services to Maine Yankee. 
          Additional costs may also be expected if the complexity of the
          cable-separation and associated issues require an extended
          period for their resolution.  These additional costs can be
          expected to adversely impact the Company's 1997 financial
          results.

                                  -2-
Current Report, Form 8-K for                           Date of Report:
Maine Public Service Company                           January, 1997


          Under the Company's multi-year rate plan, described in the
          Company's Form 10-Q dated November 12, 1996, the Company has
          the right to receive specified retail rate increases through
          1999.  This plan also includes provisions for additional cost
          recovery in certain extraordinary situations such as very low
          earnings or in the event of a Maine Yankee plant outage
          exceeding six consecutive months.  The Company will continue
          to assess whatever options it may have to recover any
          additional costs and, in addition, is making every effort to
          reduce its 1997 cash expenditures.  These efforts will include
          a review of the level of dividends on the Company's Common
          Stock.

          Moreover, the Company's short-term revolving credit agreement,
          as well as a letter of credit supporting its 1996 revenue
          bonds, contain interest coverage tests that the Company must
          satisfy to avoid default.  The Company now believes, based on
          the projected additional Maine Yankee expenses and replacement
          power costs during the plant outage, that it will likely be in
          violation of these interest coverage tests for the twelve
          months ended March 31, 1997.  The Company will seek a waiver
          of these requirements from the necessary parties, but cannot
          predict the terms of any such waiver or even if they will be
          granted.

          In a related matter, a Maine-based group has announced its
          intention to start gathering signatures toward a new
          referendum to force a permanent closure of the plant by 2000. 
          The group stated that it hoped to put the issues before the
          Maine electorate in November, 1998.  The Company cannot
          predict whether such a referendum will be held or its outcome.

          For a detailed discussion of a comprehensive Independent
          Safety Assessment of the plant and NRC investigations of Maine
          Yankee, please refer to the Company's Form 10-Q dated November
          12, 1996 and the Company's Form 8-K dated December 18, 1996.

                                   MAINE PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY
                                             Registrant



Dated:   January 31, 1997           Larry E. LaPlante                  
                                    Larry E. LaPlante, Vice President
                                    Finance, Administration and
                                    Treasurer

                                  -3-
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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:  January, 1997

                      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                           January, 1997

Item 5.   Other Material Events - Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company 

          The Company owns five percent of the common stock of the Maine
          Yankee Atomic Power Company (Maine Yankee), which entitles it
          to purchase approximately 4.9% of the energy produced by the
          plant, approximately 35% of the Company's requirements in
          1996.  As reported in the Company's 10-Q dated November 12,
          1996, the Maine Yankee power plant has been limited to
          operating at 90 percent of capacity since early 1996 pending
          resolution of issues relating to investigations initiated by
          the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).  The plant has also
          been out of service since December 6, 1996, to resolve cable-
          separation and associated issues.  Having detected indications 
          of minor leakage in a small number of the plant's fuel rods,
          Maine Yankee has used this out-of-service time to inspect the
          plant's fuel assemblies and has determined that several fuel
          assemblies should be replaced.

          On January 29, 1997, the NRC announced that it had placed the
          plant on its "Category 2" "watch list", which includes plants
          that display "weaknesses that warrant increased NRC
          attention," but do not warrant a shut-down order.  The plant
          is one of 14 nuclear units in the United States on the January
          29 "watch list" and one of six listed there for the first
          time.

          The Company expects the plant to remain off-line until the
          fuel assembly replacement and a thorough inspection of the
          plant's electrical cabling are completed, and restarting is
          approved by the NRC.  The Company cannot predict how long the
          plant will remain off-line, and has made replacement power
          plans for an outage that could last several months.

          The Company has been incurring replacement power costs of
          approximately $170,000 per week while the plant has been out
          of service.  In addition, the Company is responsible for five
          percent of an estimated additional $30 million in operating
          costs, or approximately $1.5 million.  Further costs are
          expected when Entergy Corporation, recently selected by Maine
          Yankee's owners to manage the plant's overall operations,
          begins providing management services to Maine Yankee. 
          Additional costs may also be expected if the complexity of the
          cable-separation and associated issues require an extended
          period for their resolution.  These additional costs can be
          expected to adversely impact the Company's 1997 financial
          results.

                                  -2-
Current Report, Form 8-K for                           Date of Report:
Maine Public Service Company                           January, 1997

          Under the Company's multi-year rate plan, described in the
          Company's Form 10-Q dated November 12, 1996, the Company has
          the right to receive specified retail rate increases through
          1999.  This plan also includes provisions for additional cost
          recovery in certain extraordinary situations such as very low
          earnings or in the event of a Maine Yankee plant outage
          exceeding six consecutive months.  The Company will continue
          to assess whatever options it may have to recover any
          additional costs and, in addition, is making every effort to
          reduce its 1997 cash expenditures.  These efforts will include
          a review of the level of dividends on the Company's Common
          Stock.

          Moreover, the Company's short-term revolving credit agreement,
          as well as a letter of credit supporting its 1996 revenue
          bonds, contain interest coverage tests that the Company must
          satisfy to avoid default.  The Company now believes, based on
          the projected additional Maine Yankee expenses and replacement
          power costs during the plant outage, that it will likely be in
          violation of these interest coverage tests for the twelve
          months ended March 31, 1997.  The Company will seek a waiver
          of these requirements from the necessary parties, but cannot
          predict the terms of any such waiver or even if they will be
          granted.

          In a related matter, a Maine-based group has announced its
          intention to start gathering signatures toward a new
          referendum to force a permanent closure of the plant by 2000. 
          The group stated that it hoped to put the issues before the
          Maine electorate in November, 1998.  The Company cannot
          predict whether such a referendum will be held or its outcome.

          For a detailed discussion of a comprehensive Independent
          Safety Assessment of the plant and NRC investigations of Maine
          Yankee, please refer to the Company's Form 10-Q dated November
          12, 1996 and the Company's Form 8-K dated December 18, 1996.

                                   MAINE PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY
                                             Registrant

Dated:   January 31, 1997           Larry E. LaPlante                  
                                    Larry E. LaPlante, Vice President
                                    Finance, Administration and
                                    Treasurer

                                  -3-