AUGUSTA, Maine — State Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, has deemed Central Maine Power's offer to revise its plan to build a power corridor through western Maine not good enough, according to a press release from House Democrats.
Rep. Berry's statement comes after a CMP meeting Tuesday in which parties reopened negotiations on the $1 billion New England Clean Energy Connect, the Associated Press reports.
The project is designed to bring electricity from Hydro Quebec to customers in Massachusetts, but it has created serious opposition in western Maine, as critics say the state wouldn't see many benefits.
"Based on initial media report, this newest offer is just half of what New Hampshire said ‘no’ to," said Berry. "If Maine says yes to anything less than what New Hampshire and Vermont were offered, shame on us."
In exchange for an energy corridor, Eversource offered New Hampshire $510 million in direct benefits and 56 miles of underground power lines.
In another proposal, TDI-NE offered Vermont $710 million with a promise that the entire line would be underground.
The AP reports CMP indicated a new offer could include additional benefits for Maine customers and communities, but the company would not offer specifics. It remains unclear whether any of the proposed CMP line would be put underground, with the exception of one river crossing, according to the release.
"Our chief responsibility is not to Spain, Quebec or Massachusetts, but to the people of Maine -- especially those whose lives and livelihoods depend on the rugged beauty of our western mountains," said Berry. "This lucrative deal is only the latest example of CMP putting its overseas shareholders ahead of Maine electricity customers, who continue to suffer from overbilling and from some of the worst reliability and highest costs in the nation."