Many people have written in opposition to the NECEC/CMP corridor – the most recent in the Press Herald referred to the project as “an extension cord to Massachusetts.”

I agree we need to preserve as much of our woodlands as possible. That said, every time I read a letter that vilifies our New England neighbors, they lose my vote. Not because I disagree with their position but because of their lack of knowledge on how our nation’s grid system works.

Electricity is like oxygen, there are no border guards cutting if off from going back and forth across state lines. In fact, when people in Maine download our Netflix videos, they may well be coming from a server that resides in Massachusetts or anywhere else in the Quebec Interconnection, of which Maine has been a part of for years. The U.S. and Canadian electric power grids are connected through 37 major transmission lines from New England to the Pacific Northwest.

If we want to keep getting reliable power to talk on our phones, refrigerate our groceries and power our electric cars, we need to stop thinking about Maine’s power needs as exclusive. We should start thinking about how we collaborate across state lines to make the possibility of a carbon neutral electric grid come true.

Tracy Floyd
Cape Elizabeth

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