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October 29, 2009

PUC staff question CMP project

By The Mainebiz News Staff

The full scope and price tag of Central Maine Power Co.'s proposed $1.5 billion electricity transmission upgrade isn't necessary, according to the staff of the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

In an analysis released Tuesday, the PUC staff said that Maine's power grid could be made reliable with fewer transmission towers and substations and for a much lower cost, the Portland Press Herald reported. Forecasts for electricity use that CMP developed in 2006 to determine the need for the Maine Power Reliability Program are now outdated in light of the recession, overstating the necessity of such an overhaul, the analysis found. The staff also said CMP's scenarios for what would happen if power plants went offline represented an "extreme worst" case and did not have a reasonable probability of occurring. with the staff's findings and said they would issue a formal response emphasizing the project's importance. "We still believe the system we designed is the right system for Maine," CMP spokesman John Carroll told the paper.

CMP officials told the paper they disagreed

The MPRP project includes building or upgrading over 500 miles of transmission line, building six new substations, and expanding or upgrading nearly 30 more.

Go to the article from the Portland Press Herald

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