MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • November 7, 2021
It was nowhere to be seen on Tuesday’s ballot, but Pine Tree Power got a big jolt of energy last week. The proposed consumer-owned electric utility, which would replace Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power as the primary provider of electricity throughout most of Maine, still has a long, long way to go before it becomes a reality. But when Mainers overwhelmingly turned thumbs down on CMP’s proposed New England Clean Energy Connect transmission corridor on Election Day, they weren’t just focused on the 145 miles of high-voltage line running through the forests of western Maine. They were voicing their disdain, loudly, for CMP, its U.S. parent company, Avangrid, and their parent conglomerate, Spain-based energy giant Iberdrola. As one hot-button campaign ends, another one begins. ~ Bill Nemitz