PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 2, 2021
An effort aimed at killing a $1 billion transmission line project in western Maine appeared headed for a decisive victory as of 11 p.m. Tuesday, a vote fueled in part by distaste for the state’s largest utility and concerns about environmental impacts to the North Woods. With 390 of 571 precincts reporting, 60 percent of voters had said “yes” to Question 1, a strong repudiation of Central Maine Power Co., its domestic parent company Avangrid and Canadian energy supplier Hydro-Qubec, as well as plans to finish the New England Clean Energy Connect project and put it into service. The “yes” vote was registering a strong showing in nearly every part of the state except Aroostook County as of 11 p.m. The Natural Resources Council of Maine, which has been fighting the corridor, called on CMP to stop the project immediately.