PUC staff recommends approving $1 billion CMP power line project

The staff of the Maine Public Utilities Commission is recommending that a controversial transmission line through Maine that would bring Canadian hydropower to Massachusetts receive a permit from state utility regulators.

The recommendation released Friday night represents good news for Central Maine Power, its parent company, Avangrid, and its partner, the provincial energy company Hydro-Quebec.

The 162-page report sets the stage for one of the most consequential decisions in recent years by the PUC: Whether to give New England Clean Energy Connect a key permit it needs to move ahead with a project that has sharply divided Maine policymakers and residents.

The long-awaited report, known as a hearing examiner’s report, represents the staff’s expert recommendations to the three commissioners, who soon will decide the fate of the permit. The commissioners aren’t bound by the examiner’s assessment, but these reports historically serve to guide their decision.

Read more: https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/03/29/puc-staff-recommends-approval-of-cmp-power-line/