Supporters, opponents of CMP's power corridor debate expected economic benefits
Question 1 on the statewide Nov. 2 ballot asks Maine voters whether they want to ban or allow Central Maine Power’s new electricity corridor, New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) to be built.
Opponents petitioned to get Question 1 on the ballot, and a “yes” vote would ban the project, while a “no” vote would let its construction continue.
The $1 billion project would deliver hydropower from Quebec, Canada, to the New England power grid via a substation in Lewiston.
The referendum campaigns, substantially funded by rival energy companies, have sparked a robust debate on the potential environmental impact of the corridor, as well as its expected economic benefits.
On a recent visit to the Somerset County town of Bingham, we witnessed how work on the corridor is already underway, even while the fate of the project is uncertain.
NECEC construction manager Jim Wright said 830 poles are needed to string wiring through the 145-mile corridor, about six poles per mile.
The corridor will encompass 92 miles of existing power lines plus a new 53-mile path being cut through western Maine forest.
Wright sees the 600 construction workers already hired, with 1,000 more jobs projected, as a top benefit.
Wright said, “Those people, by working on this project, they’re going into stores, they’re going into local businesses, and they’re spending money, and the money is staying in the communities.”
Chris Hartsock, from Waterville, has been working on the project for months, earning union wages as a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
"I've had to travel all over the country to do this line of work, and this job helps me be home every night with my family,” Hartsock said.
Construction is expected to last two to three years, and maintenance work will follow.
"When people say they're temporary, right, a temporary job, would you say that to a contractor building a house?” Hartsock said.
Jason Durant, a forester from Lagrange, who is clearing trees and tapering vegetation in rural Somerset and Franklin counties, said his paycheck is as large as he’s ever earned.
"Yeah, absolutely," Durant said. “There's a little convenience store that I go by every morning. I stop there every morning. I'm buying stuff."
NECEC has committed to 80% of its workforce being Maine residents like Hartsock and Durant.
Wright also touted tax benefits for three dozen corridor towns.
"The communities that this line is going through – they're seeing, you know, tax relief, on their property taxes. That's a big one. You put the money back in everyone's pocket,” Wright said.
Lewiston, where the corridor will terminate, is projected to collect the most corridor property taxes at eventually $8 million per year.
Towns ranging from West Forks ($73,466) to Wiscasset ($227,539) are already receiving property taxes paid this year by NECEC, as are Livermore Falls, Jay, Farmington, Anson, Greene, Moscow, and Embden.
In West Forks, where the clear-cut path begins, many residents are opposed to the project.
"It's all about money. This whole thing is about money,” resident Pete Dostie said.
Twenty years ago, Dostie built the Hawk’s Next Lodge, in West Forks, across from the Dead River, hosting seasonal hunters, fishermen, rafters, and snowmobilers.
“My question is why doesn’t Canada keep all that hydropower and clean up their own act, up in Canada, so they won’t have to burn tar sands and oil?” Dostie said.
His wife, Sarah Dostie, who runs the lodge, also opposes the corridor.
"I get it. I love the idea of renewable, sustainable energy, but it has to be done correctly, and just grabbing at straws and taking the first project, from Quebec to Massachusetts, cutting through our woods without us – we're not even getting the power,” Sarah Dostie said.
The hydropower generated in Canada will be used primarily by Massachusetts customers, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who supports the project, has said Maine will reap $258 million in benefits.
The state will buy some electricity at a discount, and some CMP customers are expected to receive rebates on future bills.
"I know that Janet Mills says it'll bring in $258 million, but that's over the course of 40 years, which is pennies per person per year,” Pete Dostie said.
The Dosties also dislike how corridor profits will leave the state and country, because CMP’s parent company is Spain-based Iberdrola.
"To me, it is a foreign-owned company raping our backyard for their profit margin, not ours. We're getting very little out of this, if anything at all,” Sarah Dostie said.