What do these news headlines:
- “CMP: Be prepared to be without power for more than a day”
- “Maine snowstorm leaves more than 265,000 without Power”
- “Thousands of CMP Customers still without power from last week’s storm”
- “Central Mainers still dealing with no power”
Have in common with these headlines?:
- “CMP, Hydro-Quebec spent $7 million last quarter in attempt to squash anti-corridor referendum”
- “CMP-aligned groups spend record $9.5M aiming to fight anti-corridor referendum”
- “Judge rejects lawsuit aimed at derailing vote on CMP power line project”
They aired during the same week. That should sound an alarm for Maine ratepayers, the PUC and Massachusetts ratepayers.
Over the last two years, CMP has focused so much of their energy and resources on building a for-profit corridor to run power through Maine’s north woods to Massachusetts, that they have neglected their customers here in Maine, and they have neglected important infrastructure maintenance.
CMP’s monopoly status means we are stuck with them. But Massachusetts isn’t. And if they are paying any attention at all, they will run their power through Vermont, where a project to deliver this same power underground is already fully-permitted and ready to go.
The best part of that project is that it won’t benefit CMP, and so perhaps their foreign stakeholders will shift their focus back to where it belongs.
Theresa York
Farmington
Spot on, Theresa! Let’s hope the irony is not overlooked come November.
Theresa, GREAT letter. I wanted to get this in before the local group starts to contribute the usual negative comments. Yes, your comparison is pretty compelling! Thanks
Yes Theresa, but their glossy ads and Hollywood production style TV commercials are…so…polished, slick.
I will add this to your insightful letter. If the NECEC (fraud, bad deal for Maine) is built, everyone of us gets pushed down a notch in the pecking order for maintenance and power restoration. In their algorithm, that line comes first, you the individual comes last. Thank goodness we are bringing this to a vote of the people.
Also, a note of thanks to all the hardworking men and women braving the conditions over the last two weeks working the lines. I personally think the 9.5 million Theresa alluded to above should have been allocated to them as hazard pay.
And here come the mouthbreathers who think this powerline will reduce their bill…
I plan on voting against this project.
I am not a hippie, activist or liberal by a longshot.
Right off the bat, Walter Gooley said it best, “this does not pass the smell test”.
I still agree.
As time has passed, it’s obvious by CMP tactics that they know it can’t stand on its own.
But “Maine, The Cheap Date” can be plowed over by force,,,??
We will be finding out.
Enough of all this electrical silliness,,
we need Maine Yankee Nuclear Power.
Sure… right after the tree hugging mouth breathers who think this will destroy the Maine virgin forest…
Hold the phone, There is no need to announce yourself, this is an informal forum.
A company wanting to make a profit, the nerve of CMP. So… when do you naysayers take on Hannaford’s for selling food and water, 2 necessities for human life, for a profit? Or the real estate companies for having the audacity to sell another necessity for human life for a profit, shelter. Maybe Spectrum for charging for internet which some people see as a necessity. Are you going to go after car dealerships for selling cars, which a car in rural Maine can mean getting to important appointments, work, school, buying groceries from Hannaford’s or Walmart and contributing to their profits, car companies and dealerships should give cars to people who have a 6 mile or greater walk to Farmington. Isn’t that the point, to prevent companies owned by rich people that charge money for goods or services from making a profit and to take massive losses all because you are not happy with having to give them money in exchange for those goods or services? The other day I was at Hannaford’s and they were out of hamburger, I really had my heart set on Hamburger Helper for supper, I was really inconvenienced by them not having hamburger, Hannaford’s should give me a discount on hamburger from now on because they inconvenienced me. And if you are thinking about the environmental impact of the NECEC, I got that covered, cars burn gas or fuel, they put out CO2, obviously way more than all the trees in the world can handle or pollution would be non existent, food and water comes in plastic wrappers and containers, plastic ends up in the ocean or sits in landfills for decades. So I guess some forms of extreme environmental impact is ok with the naysayers as long as it isn’t a little environmental impact by dropping a few trees to make room for a power line. Hypocrites.
Hrtlss, Geeze, you missed again. It not even about them making a profit. The PUC guarantees them a profit. Oh, and you’ve got the environmental impact “covered?” What the hell is that supposed to mean? Every body seems to operate on an assumption that if you can find one little hypocritical something about someone – then nothing they say is worth listening to. Well, that could be found for every person on the planet or any entity made up of people because every one of us is imperfect. It’s very simple for so many Mainers, that overall (for many varied reasons) it’s just a bad deal for Maine. There’s no need for it here.
If Mass needs this power so bad. Vermont is more than willing with more benefits to their people. We the people of Maine know a bad deal when we see it.
Right On, Pine Tree!
Hrtlss Bstrd, your comparison does not hold water. The companies you mention are providing a service to the people of Maine. The NECEC is a proposed extension cord passing through Maine to provide Electricity to Massachusetts. This corridor will make several companies rich, at the expense of Mainers, not to benefit Mainers.
Pine Tree, It is an old proverb, “How can you remove the mote from your friend’s eye when there is a log in yours?” So yes, if people are going to complain about the environmental impact of something, the people doing the complaining had better be puritanical in their own use of the environment.
TJ, The NECEC is neither goods nor service it is just a thing sitting in the woods just transmitting power from A to B, CMP isn’t charging Mainers to build it, just the opposite, they are going to pay Mainers to help build it, they are going to pay property taxes on the line which we can always use the money. At Mainers expense, thus far, not a single naysayer has been able to justify that statement with any proof, none.
HB, HB, HB,
Catch up please! If this line runs near your property, and it negatively impacts the value of your property, is this at your expense? Or if this line impacts your livelihood, is this at your expense? Regardless of your response it is “at your expense”. I know folks in both scenarios.
Be sure you and everybody you know is registered to vote in November.
HB, nice work. I agree with everything you state. …….. well, not quite everything …….. well, actually not much.
Hrtlss,
You cannot serve God and money.
I mean, if you want to get Biblical and all…
Most of you whiners will never see the 50 miles of power line cut through the so called ‘pristine’ forest. Find something else to wring your hands over and enjoy the cheap electricity provided by a profitable company. BTW, why are you so against a company that profits? Maybe China or Russia would be a better fit for you.
Mainah, The only way my livelihood would be impacted by what companies outside of Maine did, would be if Pan-Am Railways and CSX said at the same time that they were going cease all Northeastern operations, which isn’t likely going to happen any time soon, because that company colloquially known as Amtrak is actually wholly owned by the US government who spends about $2 billion dollars every year just keeping the trains up and running, add to that the $100,000 cost per mile for track maintenance…the cost to the taxpayers will make your head hurt.
As far as what would I do if I did own property that abutted the NECEC, nothing. 90% of the actual corridor is already cut and has been in use by CMP for decades, so the line really wouldn’t impact the property value at all. The 10% that has yet to be cut is, on somebody else’s property, I have no say in what goes on on property outside my property lines, this isn’t communist Russia or Nazi Germany where there was no such thing as private property. If somebody wants to lease or sell their property to CMP for the use of the NECEC who are you to say they can’t? What if the current property owners of the site of the new section of the NECEC, Timberland and Weyerhaeuser decided they didn’t want their property cut on any longer, the few logging companies currently working there would be off the job anyways, so it is a non-issue really.
Capt,
Sir, with all due respect I believe your comment casting the No CORRIDOR “whiners” to Northern Siberia, could be viewed as quite whiny itself.
Thank You Sir.
Concerning CMP being profitable, Great No Problem!
Concerning CMP being Corporate Aholes, well like all bullies they cry when punched in the snoot.
They “could” play nice.
But ,,,,,
Touche’ Private!
However you skillfully evaded my point as well…