PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Hydro Quebec has sweetened the pot for Maine under a $1 billion transmission project to bring hydropower to the New England power grid.
Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday that the state secured a deal with Hydro Quebec for enough discounted energy for about 70,000 homes or 10,000 businesses in Maine. That’s on top of the $258 million in previously negotiated benefits.
“I think this is terrific news for Maine,” Tony Buxton, who represents the Industrial Energy Consumers Group, which supports the project, said.
“Massachusetts is paying six cents per kilowatt hour for this power,” Buxton said. “Under the terms of this agreement today, we would pay two-and-a-half cents. Now, that will lower everyone’s rates in Maine.”
Though, some are questioning the true value of these proposed benefits. Former state public advocate and energy consultant Gordon Weil said “It’s questionable whether you even get all of that since it depends on the final capacity of the transmission line.”
The New England Clean Energy Connect calls for the construction of a 145-mile high-voltage power line to bring Canadian hydropower to the regional grid in Lewiston. Critics collected enough signatures to put the proposal to a statewide referendum in November.
