July 1, 2008
Maine
Maine
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) – Central Maine Power and Maine Public Service Company say there is a solution to rising electric bills.
But making that change will cost money in the short term.
In Augusta Tuesday, representatives from both companies announced proposals for a $1.4 billion upgrade to transmission lines across the state.
Without that upgrade, Central Maine Power says the state’s power network could completely fail in the next four years.
The two companies also want to bridge a 25 mile gap between Northern Maine’s Electric System and the rest of the state. The project would cost another $500 million.
They say wind power from northern and western Maine would cut our dependence on oil and gas to produce electricity.
“If you look at our bill today and what’s going on in Maine and New England today, and do nothing, the cost of your bill is going to look just like what you’re seeing at the gas pump and what you’re paying to put oil in your house,” said CMP President and CEO, Sarah Burns. “It’s gas and oil that are controlling the price of electricity.”
The Maine Public Utilities Commission will now review the proposals. Company representatives are optimistic the connection with northern Maine will be done in two years.
July 1, 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/07/01/maine-holds-the-power/