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State strikes deal to bring discounted power to Maine through controversial CMP corridor


{p}A new deal would bring discounted power to Maine via CMP's proposed transmission line (WGME){ }{/p}{p}{/p}

A new deal would bring discounted power to Maine via CMP's proposed transmission line (WGME)

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PORTLAND (WGME) -- Governor Janet Mills announced a new deal Friday morning that would bring hydro power not just through Maine, via Central Maine Power's proposed transmission line, but directly to it, and at a discount.

Advocates for the controversial corridor say this resolves one of the most common complaints about the project by keeping some of the energy in Maine, but others argue it’s a small amount and doesn’t really change anything.

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"I think this is terrific news for Maine," Tony Buxton, who represents the Industrial Energy Consumers Group, which supports the project, said.

Mills said she’s secured a better deal when it comes to the New England Clean Energy Connect, which would carry hydro power through Maine from Quebec to Massachusetts.

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According to the governor, some of that energy will be sold in Maine at a discount.

"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."

Mills said it’s enough energy to power about 70,000 homes or 10,000 businesses.

Gordon Weil, a former state public advocate and energy consultant, said it will most likely only benefit one or two buyers who agree to purchase the power.

"It's questionable whether you even get all of that since it depends on the final capacity of the transmission line," Weil said.

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According to the deal reviewed by the I-Team, Maine will get 500,000 MWh per year if the transmission line is at full capacity. If it falls below that, the discounted energy will be reduced or terminated altogether.

"My view is that all the state has been offered has been an illusion," Weil said. "It's not much."

A deal negotiated last year brings $258 million in total benefits. The money that would start flowing to Maine two years early, under the latest package.

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But it's not enough for Tom Saviello, a member of the Stop CMP Corridor group that gathered enough signatures to put the issue to voters in a referendum.

"It's smoke and mirrors," Saviello said. "To use old analogy, like trying to put lipstick on a pig."

The referendum is scheduled to go to voters in November, however CMP continues to try to block it. CMP's parent company, Avangrid, is now asking Maine’s highest court to keep the issue off of the ballot.

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