Courtesy / Central Maine Power
Joseph Purington
January 12, 2022
CMP seeks approval on settlement over solar connection problems
By Jessica Hall
Central Maine Power asked the Maine Public Utilities Commission to approve a settlement that calls for the utility to invest $700,000 over the next two years to improve installation of solar projects.
Last year, Maine’s solar industry complained that CMP caused delays and sought multi-million dollar charges to connect solar farms to the company’s substations.
As part of the filing, CMP agreed to invest $700,000 to fund new resources that will allow the company to more quickly complete the necessary work to support solar projects.
The funds also will support a working group that will allow developers and CMP to address the grid problems and solutions needed to accommodate the hundreds of proposed projects that have applied to connect to the system.
CMP said it has already hired more than 100 employees and contractors to support the application and study process required for renewable solar development projects.
“In order to reach Maine’s clean energy goals, we must have a firm and forward-looking commitment from developers, regulators, policy-makers and utilities to work together to address challenges and find solutions,” said CMP President and CEO Joseph Purington. “We have made great strides to date and this settlement was an opportunity to ensure momentum by providing a framework to help us work more collaboratively and effectively.”
Reaching the state’s clean energy goals will require significant investments, including adding clean baseload generation, building more small renewable generation, electrification efforts like electric vehicles and heat pumps, expanding energy efficiency programs and investing in a more resilient and flexible grid, Purington said.
In the proposed settlement, CMP along with Maine Renewable Energy Association and Coalition for Community Solar Access, the Office of the Public Advocate, Con Edison Clean Energy Business, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine agreed to resolve all outstanding issues with respect to interconnection practices and the required transmission cluster study process.
In its role as grid operator, CMP has two key duties in the interconnection process: ensuring the safe and reliable operation and management of the electric distribution system that delivers power directly to consumers’ homes and businesses, and conducting transmission cluster studies to ensure that proposed projects seeking to connect to the bulk power system will not cause reliability concerns or damage to the system.
“Being a good community and industry partner is important as we seek to best serve Mainers,” Purington continued. “While our name may be the same, as we turn the page and focus on the future, I’m hopeful that people recognize the way we approach issues has fundamentally changed to be more collaborative and customer focused.”
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