Iberdrola, Iberdrola USA and CMP Kick Off $1.4 Billion Transmission Project and $166 Million Advanced Metering Project
Iberdrola USA and Central Maine Power Company (CMP) today launched two projects with investments totaling more than $1.5 billion that will have a major impact on Maine's electricity delivery system as well as bring wider benefits to New England as a whole. Iberdrola Group Chairman Ignacio Galan, and Maine Governor John E. Baldacci marked the start of the $1.4 billion Maine Power Reliability Program (MPRP), a project that will support the development of new renewable energy resources and help ensure long- term reliability for customers by increasing the capacity and efficiency of the New England's transmission grid.
The MPRP, which will be completed in 2015, will support up to 2,000 jobs annually during the five-year construction phase, with a peak of over 3,000, and contribute significantly to the Maine economy. The project is the largest energy infrastructure project in the state's history, and the first upgrade of its electricity grid in 40 years.
The Iberdrola Chairman and Governor Baldacci also installed the first of 620,000 advanced electricity meters that will be installed for CMP customers as part of a new smart grid program to be developed over the next two years. This $166 million project, covered in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), will enable CMP customers to access pricing and usage information through a web portal so they can better manage energy use and cost. It will provide the company with the best possible information on outages to help speed the company's response. Further, it will mean operational efficiencies and cost reductions related to billing, account opening and closings, and credit and collections as well as instantaneous meter reading.
