Please take five minutes today to make a comment
Let the PUC know what you think about the proposed transmission line from Northern Maine.
Link to make a comment.
View all comments at docket 2024-00099.
Ideas:
LD 810 effectively undid the people’s referendum of 2021. The referendum vote (59% approval) required that all high impact transmission lines which cross public lands receive 2/3 legislative approval. This was undone by LD 810—probably because the legislators know that 2/3 legislative agreement is impossible for this sort of transmission project: one that impacts the landscape at this scale, is designed to bring energy into southern New England, and is controversial and expensive.
Maine has a legislatively mandated Integrated Grid Planning Process (LD 1959, 2022). This planning is underway and will not be completed until 2026.
LD 197 (2025) directs the Governor’s Energy Office to perform an independent and non-partisan transmission line study. This is not complete.
LD 2087 (2024), the law which provided eminent domain protections to land owners, requires the Bureau of Parks and Lands to do rule-making about crossing public lands (in this case, rail trails.) This is not complete.
ISO-NE is performing long-term grid planning and has an active RFP out. This will not be complete until 2026.
“Site control” is not defined in the draft RFP.
The process is not transparent: why is it under a protective order if bidders are directed to work together and to submit multiple co-bids? This could lead to bidders collaborating to keep prices high, rather than low.
How will this transmission proposal, which will primarily supply power out of state, not impact Maine electricity costs? What about maintenance? Are the other states going to pay for line maintenance?
This process is supposed to be public. Protective orders and complexity reduce public trust, especially following the voter referendum being (effectively) overturned by the legislature.
How will the evaluation factor of “costs” be decided? Will it include the decrease in land value for parcels proximate to the line? This was what killed (imho) the Northern Pass project in NH. (Document 3 at this link)
Thank you for putting this out there! I'll to re-post future calls to comments any any other updates you deem inportant. Please keep up the great work!
I was involved in opposing the First Wind projects under the "Expedited Wind Law" of 2008, a heinous piece of bogus legislation still on the books in Maine from a criminal corrupt company supported by lacking Governor Baldacci and self-serving Senator Angus King and others who financially benefited from the Green Scam. Nothing in Maine has changed concerning the absurdity of wind projects. Now however, the chickens have come home to roost concerning the impacts of ever increasing prices of electricity caused by unreliable intermittent sources like wind , ruined environments, and lost businesses from this failed GREEN Bogus Power Scamming (which the PUC should have ended years ago) if it had followed its mission statement to represent Mainers, not graft laden wind projects that have changed hands numerous times since. Mainers are poorer because of you , the PUC, who should have stopped this nonsense a decade ago. PUC, you are at blame for a failing Maine, along with others like Governor Mills. Having Mainer's pay any more for this scam , for unneeded transmission lines is criminal in my opinion. LOOK at electric prices over the years since PL-661, then come to the obvious conclusion. Unreliables are an abysmal failure in many ways, as they originated from a failed political narrative of Global Warming.
End this project and EnD the Green Scamming ! Even Bill Gates has stated recently human suffering is and should be the prevalent narrative of the left,Not Global Warming! Mainers are suffering , getting poorer every time they pay absurdly high electricity prices you have helped create by not ending "stranded costs" of horrendous wind and transmission projects you socialize on their backs .Businesses continue to leave the state, as well as residents like me. The Global Warming Narrative the PUC is still following is dead! Get with the program and stop the financial suffering of poor Mainers, the loss of business , caused by decisions YOU MAKE! . END THIS PROJECT!