ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 1, 2024
Three Massachusetts utilities and Central Maine Power’s parent company have agreed that Massachusetts ratepayers must shoulder $512 million in additional costs caused by delays in construction of a power transmission project in Maine that will allow Canadian hydropower to reach the New England power grid. Proponents said Wednesday that the project still represents a good deal. The project had to overcome multiple hurdles. It won all regulatory approvals, but work was halted after Maine voters rebuked the project in a November 2021 referendum. A jury concluded the referendum was unconstitutional because it violated the developers’ vested rights.