CMP says Portland area needs $547M upgrade amid pushbacks
Maine Public | By Peter McGuire
Published October 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM EDT
EXCERPTS
Central Maine Power is pushing the need for a proposed half-billion dollar transmission upgrade around Portland amid growing opposition to the construction plan from some local residents....................
...........CMP is already straining to meet growing demand from new commercial and housing development in Portland, Morin added. Those limits will start constraining new additions, including the city's electrification push or ambition to provide shore power to cruise ships and other large vessels to cut back on emissions.
"In Portland in particular there is very limited additional capacity available, we are already seeing problems with larger requests coming through and trying to shift load from neighboring substations, just kind of piecemeal things in, band-aid fix to get customers in. It is a challenge for us right now accommodating any additional capacity in the Portland peninsula," Morin said.............................................
CMP filed with the Maine Public Utilities Commission last year to get approval for its construction proposal. The $547 million development would include updating transmission lines and electric substations through Westbrook, Cumberland, Yarmouth, Falmouth and Portland.
But in recent months some local residents have begun voicing concerns that the project will impact the character of their neighborhoods, damage the environment and degrade their property values. Some have said they were never informed about the proposal and feel CMP is failing to pursue the project with transparency.
Other parties including the Maine Office of Public Advocate question whether CMP really needs to spend so much — a bill that would be paid for by its customers across Maine — in order to achieve capacity and reliability aims....................................
In response to rising concerns, CMP has organized another series of town hall-style open houses so residents can learn more about the proposal and ask the utility direct questions. And Morin added that CMP has also started door-to-door outreach to talk with people about the project.
"We recognize the need for more direct engagement with affected communities, and we are expanding community engagement as we speak," Morin said.
Upcoming open house meetings include:
Falmouth, 11/5/26 7-9 p.m. Falmouth Elementary School
Westbrook, 11/9/26 6-8 p.m. Westbrook Community College
Portland, 11/10/26 6-8 p.m. Presumpscot Elementary School
Cumberland 6-8 p.m. Cumberland Town Hall
https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2026-10-29/cmp-says-portland-ar...
*************************************
Fair Use Notice: This website may reproduce or have links to copyrighted material the use of which has not been expressly authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available, without profit, as part of our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, economic, scientific, and related issues. It is our understanding that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided by law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Views: 5
Comment
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
Not yet a member?
Sign up today and lend your voice and presence to the steadily rising tide that will soon sweep the scourge of useless and wretched turbines from our beloved Maine countryside. For many of us, our little pieces of paradise have been hard won. Did the carpetbaggers think they could simply steal them from us?
We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
-- Mahatma Gandhi
"It's not whether you get knocked down: it's whether you get up."
Vince Lombardi
Task Force membership is free. Please sign up today!
Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
© 2026 Created by Webmaster.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine to add comments!
Join Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine