Potential vote to block CMP corridor takes next step to the ballot

Opponents of the $1 billion electricity transmission corridor Central Maine Power Co. wants to build through western Maine won a victory Wednesday when the state certified their petitions to create a citizens referendum blocking the plan.

The opposition group, No CMP Corridor, on Feb. 3 delivered 15,785 petitions containing 82,449 signatures, of which 69,714 were valid, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said in a news release.

A minimum of 63,067 signatures from registered Maine voters was required for the proposal to move forward in the referendum process.

Unless the Legislature chooses to enact the proposal, Dunlap will draft a ballot question for public review. The question would then go before voters in the Nov. 3 general election.

No CMP Corridor is hoping to overturn a regulatory approval of CMP’s 145-mile New England Clean Energy Connect transmission corridor, which would deliver 1,200 megawatts of renewable energy generated by Hydro-Quebec to Massachusetts. The project received a “certificate of public convenience and necessity” from the Maine Public Utilities Commission in April 2019.

The opponents began the petition process in September, and said they collected signatures in over 400 Maine communities, from Madawaska to Kittery.

In response to Dunlap’s confirmation of the signatures, No CMP Corridor co-leaders Sandi Howard and Tom Saviello said, “We are pleased that Maine voters will get the opportunity to put a stop to CMP's corridor, but our work to win this election is just beginning. In the coming months, we will be making sure that Mainers know how bad this project is for our incredible state.”