Massachusetts ratepayers to pay additional $512M for transmission line for Canadian hydropower

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Three Massachusetts utilities and the parent company of Central Maine Power have agreed that Massachusetts ratepayers will pay $512 million in additional costs caused by delays in construction of a power transmission project in Maine that Would allow Canadian hydropower to reach New England. power grid.

Supporters said Wednesday that the project, which would supply enough clean energy to power nearly 1 million homes, still represents a good deal for ratepayers and the environment despite delays and new costs.

“Even with these unexpected costs, this is clean energy at a pretty good price. I’m not sure our prices will be this low in the future. So we must grit our teeth, absorb the additional spending and keep it going,” said Massachusetts State Senator Michael Barrett, of Lexington, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee.

Inflation and delays caused by opponents caused the project’s cost to rise from $1 billion to at least $1.5 billion, requiring the Massachusetts Legislature to give its approval late last year to pass on most of the additional costs to ratepayers.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the Attorney General’s Office signed the agreement, which the parties submitted to the state Utilities Department for approval on Monday. Central Main Power’s parent company, Avangrid, did not recoup the $100 million it spent on the legal and referendum fight, according to an official.

Proponents of the project say the 1,200 megawatts of power it will provide will lower electric rates across the region, reduce carbon pollution and help Massachusetts meet its clean energy goals. Construction should be completed by the end of next year or summer 2026,

“This transmission line should lower overall electricity prices and provide new, reliable power to Massachusetts and New England as we move toward clean energy. We look forward to seeing clean hydropower flowing to our state soon,” said Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahoney and Liz Anderson from the Attorney General’s Office.

Despite the change, Massachusetts ratepayers will save about $3.4 billion over the 20-year contract, and using hydropower represents a carbon reduction equivalent to taking 660,000 cars off the road, said Kim Harriman, Avangrid’s senior vice president for public and regulatory affairs. .

Avangrid and Canada’s Hydro Quebec worked together on the project, which called for a 145-mile (233 km) electricity transmission line that would mostly follow existing corridors. But to reach the Canadian border a new 53-mile (85-kilometre) section through forests had to be built, which environmental and conservation groups condemned.

The project had to overcome many obstacles.

It won all regulatory approvals, but work was halted after Maine voters rebuked the project in a November 2021 referendum. A jury concluded that the referendum was unconstitutional because it violated the inherent rights of the developers.