PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 2, 2023
A federal ruling about a New Hampshire power plant has removed a technical hurdle for the stalled Maine transmission line project backed by Central Maine Power. The issue before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission involved a circuit breaker at the 1,250-megawatt plant that must be upgraded to allow the New England Clean Energy Connect line to safely connect to the regional grid. In a split decision, FERC determined that the circuit breaker is part of the generating equipment, not the transmission system. But it also said NextEra must replace the breaker because it would become strained after NECEC connected to the grid.