Central Maine Power Company

08/11/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/11/2022 13:05

CMP Files Powering Maine Plan to Deliver Greater Price Stability, Grid Resiliency and Clean Energy Access

AUGUSTA, ME-August 11, 2022 - Central Maine Power (CMP) filed its Powering Maine plan with the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) today. First announced earlier this Spring, the proposed three-year plan reflects CMP's commitment to maintaining price predictability for customers, continuing to improve the delivery of reliable power, supporting more efficient storm restoration response, reducing the impacts of outages on customers, offering more tools to customers to monitor and manage their energy usage, and enabling greater adoption of renewable energy onto the grid.

"We understand that energy prices across the board are challenging Mainers right now," said Joseph Purington, President and CEO of CMP. "Our goal is to invest in the system to improve reliability for customers and minimize outage impacts when they occur. At the same time, we want to keep the CMP portion of our customers' energy wallets, which does not include electricity supply costs, predictable over the next few years."

The plan proposes a rate structure that would add approximately $5.00 /month to the average residential customer bill the first year, $2.78 in the second year and $2.33 the third.

Grid Reliability and Clean Energy Investments include:

  • Replacing aging poles on the system with larger, more durable poles and replacing bare wire with covered wire - both of which better withstand storm impacts such as falling trees and limbs that damage the infrastructure. In the face of climate change, storms are more frequent, volatile and responsible for more system damage.
  • Reducing the number of customers impacted by each outage through the ongoing installation of automated switches on the system, allowing us to have more complete system knowledge, manage power outages remotely and reduce maintenance expense.
  • Meeting customer demand for more digital tools to understand and manage energy usage and accounts, and to receive usage updates and storm outage information electronically.
  • Continuing to ensure safe and early storm response by staging the contractor personnel needed in a regional environment that competes for contractors for storm support.
  • Transforming the grid to better enable the interconnection of solar, storage and other renewable energy resources needed for Maine's clean energy future.
  • Proposing new rate structures that will advance the deployment of heat pumps and electric vehicles.

"CMP must continue to balance the needs for predictable costs with the smart system updates that improve reliability now and that enable our company to successfully perform its role in helping Maine meet its climate change goals," Purington said.

Next steps include an extensive regulatory process overseen by the MPUC. Interested parties including the Office of Public Advocate and other customer interest groups are expected to participate and CMP looks forward to continued dialogue with these parties as it looks to balance the significant needs of the grid with the impact on customer's wallets. Rates are proposed to go into effect mid-2023.

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About CMP: Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., is Maine's largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. Established in 1899 and based in Augusta, Maine, CMP serves approximately 646,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. It operates approximately 23,500 miles of distribution lines and 2,900 miles of transmission lines. Over the last decade, the company has invested approximately $3.5 billion in Maine system infrastructure.

About AVANGRID:AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $40 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 7,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021 and 2022 as one of the JUST 100 companies - a ranking of America's best corporate citizens. In 2022, AVANGRID ranked second within the utility sector for its commitment to the environment and the communities it serves. The company supports the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World's Most Ethical Companies in 2022 for the fourth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. For more information, visit avangrid.com.

Media Contact:

Catharine Hartnett
[email protected]
207.458.3510