CMP improvement project hits two more milestones

AUGUSTA, Maine - Central Maine Power Company reached two milestones on the Maine Power Reliability Program (MPRP) project, including last week when construction crews set the 5,000th structure for the project in the town of Bowdoinham.

Last month, crews set the last transmission structure for the southern segment of the project in Wells.

“Reaching these milestones puts us even closer to completing our project to build a stronger, smarter grid for Maine,” said CMP President and CEO Sara J. Burns. 

The MPRP is nearly 95 percent complete. Along with enhancing reliability, it will provide a foundation for future development of the region’s bulk power grid. Among future projects under consideration,

Construction on the MPRP began in 2010 and is expected to be complete in 2015. To date, four out of five new substations have been energized, and now more than 5,000 new transmission structures have been installed. The project’s southern section from the New Hampshire border to the town of Gorham is now almost complete. It includes 80 miles of new transmission lines along more than 900 transmission structures through 16 communities in York and Cumberland counties.

The MPRP will ensure the long-term reliability of CMP’s bulk power system. The project includes the construction of four new 345kV substations, one new 115kV substation, and related facilities linked by approximately 440 miles of new transmission lines. The new facilities will reinforce the backbone of the company’s 40-year-old bulk power system and improve reliability. The MPRP is the largest construction project ever undertaken in Maine. More than 2,700 people have been employed directly in the construction, and a 2009 economic impact study projected that the construction spending would generate as many as 900 more jobs through indirect and induced employment.