ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 6, 2023
A budget signed by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey this week will allow utilities to raise rates to make up for hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs to complete a transmission line to bring Canadian hydropower to the New England electricity grid. The head of Central Maine Power Co.’s corporate parent, Avangrid, has said the cost of the $1 billion project grew to $1.5 billion as litigation delayed construction and inflation caused prices to creep upward. Avangrid partnered with Hydro-Quebec on the New England Clean Energy Connect to supply 1,200 megawatts of hydropower to meet green energy goals in Massachusetts. The 145-mile transmission line will stretch from Lewiston to the Canadian border.