For 25 years, throughout the United States and Canada, a family member has been working with a team on a rig that chemically processes the insulating oil in electric grid transformers, removing dangerous PCB molecules.

I asked him if he thinks the electric grid is in any danger from solar storms or sabotage. There is no effective protection from sabotage or solar storms in place, he said.

He believes it is just a matter of time before solar storms will damage the grid. His opinion is that it will take months, if not years, to restore the electric grid if it were knocked out by a solar storm.

Recently I asked a doctor friend how long Southern Maine Health Center in Biddeford could generate electricity on its own without the electric grid. About 72 hours, she said, before another source of power would have to take over.

Smart computer owners I know have invested in surge protection for their computers, although none of us has any protection at all if the electric grid goes down. Why on earth are Maine legislators unwilling to ask Maine voters to protect our flow of electricity to keep our future secure?

Former state Rep. Andrea Boland has been working tirelessly on L.D. 1363 to protect our electric grid from extreme solar storms. Maine electric utilities are resistant to investing in protection from solar storms that might not happen. But what if they are hit? What will we do then?

I hope you will contact your legislators to vote to protect our electric grid by supporting L.D. 1363.

Linda Lyman

Springvale

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