Regulators approve Maine grid upgrade

CMP 345 kV Transmission Line will double Maine's grid backbone from Orrington to Eliot, add a smart grid pilot and efficiency funding, secure Army Corps permits, create jobs, and stabilize New England grid beyond 2012.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved Central Maine Power's proposed $1.4 billion power grid upgrade.

The state's largest electric utility was formed after a utilities merger and now plans to build a new 345,000-volt transmission line from Orrington to Eliot, doubling the capacity of the grid's backbone. CMP contends the improvements, the first major upgrade since 1971, are needed to keep the power grid stable beyond 2012.

"I am satisfied that the project will bring net economic benefit to Maine ratepayers and will allow Maine to meet its electric transmission needs for the next ten years," said commission Chairwoman Sharon Reishus.

The utility hopes to get final permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and start construction in June, even as Canadian power line work begins, CMP spokesman John Carroll said.

The plan the commission approved includes a pilot program for "smart grid" with smart meters and non-transmission alternatives, $17 million for energy efficiency programs, the creation of an ombudsman to resolve landowner issues and additional money to support Maine's participation in electricity transmission planning.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the state's primary environmental regulatory agency, already has approved the project, and after meetings on power line upgrades more than half of the 81 cities and towns along the route have as well, CMP said.

Maine ratepayers will pay 8 percent of the cost. Other users of the New England power grid will pay the rest, officials said.

CMP said the project will create about 2,100 new jobs and provide $61 million in wages for each year of construction if grid bottlenecks are avoided, scheduled to end in 2015.

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