MAINE PUBLIC • May 16, 2023
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is lifting its suspension of construction of the controversial 145-mile transmission project known as the New England Clean Energy Connect. DEP Commissioner Melanie Loyzim on Tuesday notified developers of the NECEC that construction of the corridor may resume under certain conditions, although it's not clear when that will happen. The corridor, a project of Central Maine Power's parent company Avangrid, has been on hold since 2021 when voters opted to scuttle it, thus leading the DEP to issue a suspension order. But Avangrid challenged the legality of the referendum and last month a jury found that developers had established the legal right to finish a transmission line that will deliver hydropower from Quebec to the regional grid.