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Augusta, ME, July 3, 2008 -- Maine Public Service Co. (MPS) and Central Maine Power Co. (CMP) announced plans to construct a 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission line from central Maine to Northern Aroostook County.
The Maine Power Connection (MPC), a joint project of MPS and CMP, will connect Northern Maine to the CMP and New England electric grid to provide MPS customers with access to competitive electric power markets and to support the development of proposed wind generation projects in Aroostook County. Presently, MPS does not have a connection to the New England grid or adequate capacity to handle burgeoning requests for transmission connections from wind developers.
"We plan to invest between $400 and $500 million to build a 200 mile 345 kV transmission line and related substations from the Detroit area to Northern Aroostook County," said Brent Boyles, president and CEO of MPS. Boyles said the MPC will also enable the development of wind projects.
"Creating access to renewable resources is critical to gaining control of our electricity costs here in Maine, and it's essential to reaching our environmental goals," said Sara Burns, president of CMP.
Boyles described public benefits of the MPC, including:
* Providing competitive regional electricity costs for customers in northern Maine;
* Enhancing market access for renewable energy sources, enabling 800 MW of wind development;
* Improving system reliability for northern Maine, Maine and New England;
* Reducing carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants;
* Reducing dependency on fossil fuels and foreign oil;
* Adding $25 to $30 million annually to local property tax revenues; and
* Creating green jobs and stimulates new R&D initiatives in Aroostook County.
The companies plan to file the project this week with the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
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