PORTLAND (AP) – The state’s largest electric utility says sales to industrial customers fell 14 percent during the first three months of the year.

Central Maine Power Co. had been expecting sales to be flat or down slightly this year, but wasn’t anticipating a double-digit decline in industrial sales until recently when reports of business closings and job cuts began mounting.

CMP spokesman John Carroll told the Portland Press Herald that as factories slow production or shut down, the demand for electricity falls.

CMP said it also saw a 2 percent drop last quarter in the commercial sector, made up of customers such as office buildings, supermarkets and hotels.