CMP, others sign agreement over project
Central Maine Power Co. officials and two dozen other parties signed a $1.4 billion agreement for the company's Maine Power Reliability Project to upgrade transmission lines from Orrington to the New Hampshire state line.
The agreement includes millions of dollars to fund energy efficiency projects throughout the commercial and residential sectors of Maine, and the creation a special ombudsman to help landowners resolve disputes over power lines, according to the Portland Press Herald. CMP also agreed to work with Portland-based GridSolar on two pilot projects that would connect to the grid solar panels in the Portland and midcoast areas. GridSolar has proposed installing hundreds of acres of solar panels to meet peak demand as an alternative to building new transmission lines.
Despite earlier reports, the agreement does not include Maine Public Utilities Commission staff recommendations to scale back the project and cut its cost from $1.5 billion to $1 billion, but does include some changes, including the elimination of upgrades in the Rockland and Lewiston areas, and some new equipment originally planned for the Cumberland-Yarmouth area, according to the paper. CMP says the project could create as many as 2,000 jobs over the next four years.
The agreement must still get approval from the PUC, which is scheduled to review the matter on May 14. If the deal is approved, CMP would like to begin construction on the project this summer.
Go to the article from the Portland Press Herald >>
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