Maine Supreme Court rules in favor of CMP power line lease

Tux Turkel, Portland Press Herald, Maine
·1 min read

Nov. 29—The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday ruled that Central Maine Power Co. had a valid lease to cross the state's public lands in order to build an electricity transmission line.

The ruling overturns a 2021 lower court decision, in which Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled that the Maine Bureau of Public Lands did not have the authority to lease public reserve lands to CMP affiliate NECEC Transmission LLC. At issue was whether the lease was granted without first determining if the project would substantially alter the land in question.

This decision doesn't allow NECEC to resume construction, however.

In August, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a voter-approved law blocking the project would be unconstitutional if enough work on the transmission line had already been completed, but sent the case back to another Superior Court judge for trial, now set for April.

That issue revolves around whether the New England Clean Energy Connect project had established so-called vested rights before the statewide referendum was held.

These two rulings will help decide whether the $1 billion transmission project will be completed and when. Avangrid Inc., the Connecticut-based parent company of Central Maine Power, is fighting to develop the 145-mile corridor to carry electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts.

This story will be updated.