The six New England governors, working with the New England States Committee on Electricity (NESCO) and regional grid operators, have launched a process under which Northern Pass partners may be able to acquire substantial ratepayer funding and eminent domain powers for the controversial plan to bring hydroelectricity from Quebec into New England.

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When those customers are generating power from their own energy sources, they’re not buying power from CMP, thereby reducing the company’s revenue. CMP wants to charge those customers a special rate to reflect the fact that even though they aren’t buying power all the time, they expect CMP to provide them with reliable distribution service. It’s an issue in other states, too, as power companies adapt to increasing power generation “behind the meter,” on-site by small-scale producers.

Impact on Economy Transmission Maine

Federal regulators are being asked to resolve a regional rift over who should pay for new power lines needed to carry renewable electricity to southern New England. Vermont has joined New Hampshire and Rhode Island to oppose the cost-sharing formula being promoted by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine. ...the more populated states are trying to offload much of the cost of the new power projects on other states in New England.

Transmission Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

"We think that it is likely there will be significant additional transmission investment needed to maintain reliability and improve access to these clean, intermittent power sources," Lee Olivier, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in an earnings call Friday. "But it is too early to estimate how much that additional investment will be and exactly when it will occur."

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Aroostook County becomes a major hub for wind power development.

Impact on Landscape Impact on People Transmission Maine

Wind companies knew about these constraints when they built the plants. Upgrading transmission lines will take money, and that will come from ratepayers. It's too soon to say how much the upgrades would cost. But the investors in wind farms still make money, even if the power isn't sold on the grid, because of how these projects are financed and the rates companies have negotiated for their energy.

Transmission Maine

Lawmakers on the Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee heard testimony on a bill that would require lines transmitting 5,000 volts of power or more to be at least 300 feet from homes, schools, churches and licensed day care centers, among other places.

Transmission Maine

CMP may have promoted wind power benefits as a way to encourage then-Gov. John Baldacci to support the project and neutralize environmental critics, according to Andrew Landry, who represents some renewable power producers. "For the Baldacci administration, renewables was a hot-button topic," he said. "But in hindsight, the benefits weren't there."

Transmission Maine

A federal order issued last fall is intended to make it easier to construct transmission lines, costly and controversial projects that are notoriously tough to build.

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Thursday's move to condemn the property brings to a head the disagreement between Tonbridge and landowners along the southern end of the 214-mile project from Cut Bank to Great Falls.

Transmission Maine

"CMP has not met its burden of proof in this case," PUC Commission Chairman Jack Cashman said in a written statement. "The utility has not shown to my satisfaction through comprehensive testing or analysis that construction of the Lewiston Loop project is the most cost-effective means of addressing power reliability needs in the Lewiston area."

Transmission Maine

Although the line won approval from the United States Forest Service, the federal Bureau of Land Management and the State of California after the utility submitted an 11,000-page environmental impact statement, neighbors and wilderness advocates have filed lawsuits challenging those decisions. Opponents argue that the transmission line is not mainly about renewable energy.

Transmission Maine

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has conditionally approved Central Maine Power's proposed $14 million upgrade of transmission lines to handle electricity from incoming wind farms.

Transmission Maine

The developer of a proposed underwater transmission line from Searsport to Boston is pressing the need for the New England Region to tap the full wind power potential of Northern Maine. The so-called Greenline project would include the installation of a 140 mile undersea cable carrying electricity from Maine down to the high demand markets to the south.

Transmission Massachusetts Maine

If a community feels strongly enough about burying lines in a certain area, then Central Maine Power Co. representatives will talk with them -- if they are willing to pay for the additional cost. That was one of the messages from CMP officials during a Planning Board meeting Tuesday evening in front of an overflow crowd at Town Hall.

Transmission Maine

Many residents, even those who do not own property abutting the golf course, were upset the Planning Board did not hold a public meeting and invite CMP representatives to discuss the plan. Carroll said many of the towns where CMP has had to apply for construction permits held meetings so people could ask questions and find out more about the project.

Transmission Maine

Spanish electricity producer Iberdrola SA said Tuesday it agreed to sell three U.S. natural-gas subsidiaries, in a deal valued at $1.3 billion, to help finance a major project to improve New England's power infrastructure. ...

Transmission Maine

State utility regulators have approved Central Maine Power Company's scaled-back plans for a massive transmission upgrade. The three-member Maine Public Utilities Commission today unanimously approved the settlement agreement, which includes much of CMP's originally-proposed expanded high-voltage transmission line. The so-called Maine Power Reliability Project is estimated to cost $1.4 billion, PUC officials say.

Transmission Maine

The $1.4 billion Maine Power Reliability Project is considered the largest transmission project ever proposed in Maine. ...It's also a major windfall for CMP, which makes money by operating transmission lines. Some opponents, as well as staff experts at the PUC, had recommended scaling back the project and cutting its cost from $1.5 billion to $1 billion. That idea was mostly rejected in the pending deal.

Transmission Maine

Central Maine Power Co. has reached an agreement in principle to settle the landmark transmission line case that's now before Maine's Public Utilities Commission, according to documents made available Wednesday. The tentative agreement, which remains confidential, indicates that CMP is willing to move forward with a scaled-back project that will cost less than $1.5 billion.

Transmission Maine