I will be voting “yes” to reject Central Maine Power’s proposed new power line, and urge others to do so as well.

There’s a multitude of insufficiently answered questions regarding the entire proposal, including but not limited to Indigenous claims to lands flooded by Hydro-Quebec dams; lack of adherence to the width of clearcutting allowed; illegal granting of the lease of public lands, and outright lies being promulgated in CMP’s and Hydro-Quebec’s advocacy advertising.

However, my decision ultimately was made because I see CMP as a poorly managed company, lacking in both competence and ethics. Their muffed rollout of the new billing system, callous indifference to those harmed by gross billing errors, low rankings for reliability and remedy of outages, blaming low-level employees for illegal shutoff notices being sent out and for the furor around renewable projects’ interconnection policies, and persistent obstructionism of Maine’s vitally important transition to renewable energy, all demonstrate a company that in no way should be trusted with a major new undertaking.

CMP is a protected monopoly, and the needs of the public should always be in balance with those of the company. Until that occurs, they are undeserving of the confidence of Maine’s voters.

Ann Morrill
South Portland