CMP clarification on AES issue

Some comments made in letters and reported in news stories about Central Maine Power Co.’s relationship with the proposed AES coal-fired power plant in Bucksport warrant clarification.

CMP has been engaged in business discussions with Applied Energy Services Inc. on the possibility of a contract to buy electricity from the proposed plant. CMP has had similar discussions with many other developers of both energy-conservation projects and power-generation projects who responded to our 1989 request for proposals. All these proposals have been subjected to careful evaluation on cost, licensing criteria, operating reliability, siting, engineering and financing adequacy, and other criteria to ensure that any resulting contracts will benefit CMP customers with reliable and economical new energy or energy savings.

So far in 1990, CMP has signed agreements representing a total of about 65 megawatts of energy efficiency, hydro power, wood, and waste-to-energy resources. We expect they will make a significant contribution toward meeting our customers’ demands for energy in the coming years. We will be seeking commitments from other conservation and generation developers as our energy-resource planning for the 1990s proceeds.

We are currently engaged in exploratory discussions for additional power with the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission, AES, and two gas-fired projects. At this point, however, CMP has no agreement with any of these parties. We cannot predict whether or when an agreement might be reached with any of them.

CMP has no financial interest in AES, would make no profit on this or other power purchase, and is neither endorsing nor opposing the AES proposal. We are simply discussing it as one of many options proposed to us. Our objective is to contract with the lowest-cost bidder who will have a licensed plant available when our customers need energy. Matthew Hunter Executive vice president and chief operating officer Central Maine Power Co. Augusta