Baldacci, premier pursue power-share partnership

BANGOR – Maine and New Brunswick committed Friday to exploring a joint power pool from which the state and province could draw and share electricity.

Gov. John Baldacci and Premier of New Brunswick Shawn Graham beamed as they signed an agreement to form a partnership and analyze the legal, technical and environmental implications of sharing power across the border.

They addressed an audience of about 30 local business owners, lawyers and representatives of local power companies at the Eastern Maine Community College library.

“I’ve talked more on the phone to Premier Graham [in the last four months] than I have to any other premier in the last four years,” Baldacci said. “Together we can expand the clean energy market, reduce carbon pollution, all the while creating new jobs and increasing the production of a clean, environmentally responsible product we can export to both countries.”

Graham, who was elected premier four months ago, said Maine and New Brunswick share many things, including wind and tidal energy and a desire to further economic development.

By signing the “memorandum of understanding,” Baldacci and Graham agreed to explore over the next few months ways to generate and transmit power to and from the regions, taking into account the legal and financial implications of such an effort.

The memorandum divides the project into two phases, with an initial evaluation of the possibilities beginning immediately and ending June 1. On that date, the leaders will report to their respective governments, and if both leaders remain mutually interested in the project, they will continue a more detailed evaluation, with a final report due Jan. 1, 2008.

When asked, the governor said the agreement “sends a strong message that we’re moving away” from the state’s current participation in the ISO-New England regional power grid. The governor cited the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s January report that said the additional cost to Maine ratepayers for staying in the grid will be as much as $616 million over the next five years.

“The PUC study found that there are no legal, economic or technical barriers to pursuing an electrical partnership with New Brunswick as an alternative,” Baldacci said.

Baldacci also said Friday’s signing was inspired in part by the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce and its long-standing partnership with the St. John Board of Trade. The Chamber of Commerce has strongly encouraged the state to collaborate with Canada on economic development efforts, the governor said.

Both Maine and New Brunswick are net exporters of energy. Maine’s demand peaks in the summer; New Brunswick’s peaks in the winter.

At present, a single power line travels between Maine and New Brunswick through Houlton. Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. and New Brunswick Power are constructing a second line through Baileyville. Together, the lines will be able to transmit a total of 1,000 megawatts of power from New Brunswick to Maine, which is equal to half the power Maine requires at any given time, according to PUC Chairman Kurt Adams. Because of the way the transmission lines work, however, Maine is able to transmit only up to 400 megawatts to New Brunswick, Adams said.

One obstacle to the collaboration is that the state has no authority to force privately owned utilities Central Maine Power Co. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. to pull out of the grid, according to the PUC’s report. Bangor Hydro is owned by Emera, which is based in Nova Scotia. CMP is part of Energy East, which has operations in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire.

On the flip side, ISO New England has no authority to force CMP and Bangor Hydro to remain part of the regional power grid, the report said.

CMP President and CEO Sara Burns, who attended Friday’s signing ceremony, said her company is open to exploring the possibility of transporting and distributing power to and from Canada.

“We’re going to focus on this as a process and offer all our resources to it and see where it goes,” Burns said.

Tony Buxton, an attorney at Preti Flaherty in Augusta, represents several large commercial power consumers such as Verso paper mill in Bucksport, which are in favor of seceding from the ISO-New England power grid in order to partner with New Brunswick.

“Connecticut is a wealthy state but they’re not responsible in their consumption of energy. It costs Maine $100 million a year to help power their consumption,” Buxton said.

The governor expressed similar dissatisfaction.

“Maine’s current arrangement with ISO-New England presents a number of inequities,” Baldacci said. “I have a responsibility to look beyond New England and look to our neighbors to the north.”

The governor plans to travel to New Brunswick to meet with the premier again in Fredericton at the end of the month.