Alec Ferguson of Kennebunkport, an obvious opponent of New England Clean Energy Connect, wrote, in a letter published March 21, about a supposed encounter with a Central Maine Power lineworker, working alone in Saco, who indicated that this was a new, dangerous practice that had somehow been encouraged by Iberdrola S.A. – the majority shareowner of Avangrid, Inc., CMP’s parent company.

We are disappointed that the Portland Press Herald would print “hearsay” conversations that present company policy and work practice as dangerous, and we are further disappointed that no one with the Press Herald would check with the company on actual policy and accepted industry practice before printing such a letter to ensure the writer’s premise was correct.

CMP lineworkers have worked individually in the field in a first responder or triage role for several decades – long predating the company’s merger with Iberdrola.  Around 2000, CMP came to an agreement with our union outlining specific work activities that could not be performed by an individual, and understanding what work could be done alone – always with appropriate safety measures in place. Our single-workers are instructed to call for additional help whenever it is needed to perform a given task safely. This single-worker approach is common among other unionized utilities, and in fact, has been recently negotiated in bargaining with other New England utilities.

As an independent company headquartered in Maine, CMP invested approximately $50 million each year in company infrastructure across the state. Following CMP’s merger with Iberdrola in 2010, and then the subsequent merger with U.S.-based UIL Holdings in 2015, Maine has benefited from over $300 million in annual investment in assets and infrastructure – a six-fold increase. In fact, over 100 percent of CMP’s earnings during this period have been reinvested in the Maine electric grid – hardly a wholesale offtake of profits to Europe.

As any company would, CMP expects that as a policy, the editorial page editors could make a quick check on claims made about company policies before maligning what are perfectly accepted and long-standing safe work practices.

Thomas R. DePeter

senior director, electric operations

Avangrid, Central Maine Power, UI

Augusta

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