CMP Energizes New Somerset County Transmission Line

$33 million investment enhances grid reliability and capacity

Augusta, MI - Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of Iberdrola USA, has energized a new 115,000 volt transmission line serving communities in Maine’s Somerset County. The 39-mile line between Moscow and Benton provides a second transmission link to central Somerset County, enhancing reliability and adding transmission capacity for renewable energy exports from the region’s wind, biomass, and hydroelectric generators.

“This project is yet another example of the Company’s investments for a stronger, smarter grid in Maine,” said Sara Burns, CMP’s president and chief executive officer. “Residential, commercial, and industrial customers will have more reliable service, and we’re providing better access to markets for the region’s renewable energy industry.”

Work on the $33 million project began last October. It included the addition of a 115,000 volt terminal with breakers and other improvements at the Wyman Hydro Substation in Moscow, and the construction of 450 single-pole, wood structures in an existing corridor through nine towns in Kennebec and Somerset counties. The Somerset County line is part of more than $500 million in system investments CMP made in 2011, and the company expects to invest almost as much again in 2012.

 The project won approval by the Maine Public Utilities Commission last year through an agreement among multiple interested parties, including the Maine Office of the Public Advocate, the Conservation Law Foundation, Highland Wind LLC, the Penobscot Indian Nation, NextEra Energy, and the Maine Renewable Energy Association.

SOURCE: Central Maine Power Company (CMP)