Maine
Mainers could pay $32 million for grid upgrade in New Hampshire
Maine ratepayers will be on the hook for $32 million if Boston-based Eversource Energy follows through on a plan to rebuild a 49-mile transmission line in New Hampshire, according to Maine’s public advocate, who has joined other state officials in calling the scale of the project excessive.
Consumer Advocates of New England, the group of officials opposing the project designed to upgrade the New England grid, said Eversource has failed to demonstrate that it is a “reasonable use of consumer dollars.” Less than 8% of the line needs to be replaced, according to Eversource.
Maine Public Advocate William Harwood said the impact on a typical customer’s monthly bill would be modest. He didn’t provide a dollar estimate but said Maine ratepayers would be responsible for about 9% of the $360 million total cost of the project, though Eversource pegs the total at $384 million. The price tag would be spread over the useful life of the project – Eversource says the average age of transmission pole structures is up to 60 years – and reflect a return on profit of about 10%, he said.
The cost of electricity is an increasingly pointed subject as ratepayers are called on to finance grid upgrades to withstand frequent and destructive storms and accommodate greater electrification to heat buildings and charge electric vehicles to cut carbon from the atmosphere. Costly transmission upgrades are another matter and draw fire from consumer advocates, who say the projects unnecessarily add to ratepayers’ burden and aren’t adequately regulated.
Don Kreis, New Hampshire’s consumer advocate, accused Eversource of “unconstrained spending” on transmission projects.
“I’m proud to join my counterparts from around the region in opposing efforts to gold-plate the transmission grid and send the bill to everyone in New England,” he said.
Eversource’s service territory is Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Because its transmission lines are part of the New England grid, the region’s ratepayers pay for upgrades.
CRITICS: MORE REGULATION IS NEEDED
The state officials also criticized what they say is a “lack of meaningful oversight” over improvements to utilities’ privately owned facilities.
“We need an effective regulator to police this,” Harwood said. “If we don’t do anything, we should try to get (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) to exercise its authority.”
The New Hampshire project is the “poster child of what’s wrong with transmission regulation,” he said.
Proposals for new transmission lines are reviewed by federal regulators, transmission planners and the industry, but rebuilds or repairs such as what Eversource is proposing do not face similar scrutiny. Instead, state and local laws may require reviews and FERC may examine whether a utility’s spending decisions allow it to recoup costs from ratepayers.
The region’s ratepayer advocates said decisions about the scope of Eversource’s project and how much it will cost ratepayers “lie with the individual asset owner.”
If the utility follows through with the project, the ratepayer advocates say they might challenge the decision before FERC.
And the New England State Committee on Electricity, whose members are appointed by the region’s six governors, said without “information showing that this use of consumer dollars is well-supported and reasonable” that it’s prepared to “use its full resources to explore all available options to dispute the reasonableness of the investments, including but not limited to action at FERC.”
The owners and residents of property with a power line easement sued Eversource, FERC and the ISO on Aug. 16, demanding that the regulators play a greater role. Kristina Pastoriza and Ruth Ward, a New Hampshire state senator, asked the U.S. District Court in New Hampshire to order FERC to end the ISO-NE practice of exempting large transmission rebuild projects, including the Eversource plan, from a planning process “that will ensure that retail ratepayers who have no adequate remedy at law pay just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates.”
Pastoriza and Ward also asked the court to rule that an Eversource claim to rebuild the power line on their property is a breach of a 1948 easement and would unreasonably interfere with their rights and use of their property.
A FULL REBUILD IS EVERSOURCE’S PREFERENCE
Eversource sought the views of public officials and others at several meetings. It has proposed three alternative projects, but says its preference is a “full line rebuild.” That approach would have higher initial costs, but lower anticipated costs over time, the utility said. It also would avoid future disruptions to the environment and local communities and improve telecommunications capabilities for northern New Hampshire substations, the utility said. It’s estimated to be completed by 2026.
Eversource says rebuilding the power line will make the transmission system more resilient to extreme weather and will replace aging infrastructure that in many cases was built decades ago. Eversource said it engaged in “extensive community outreach.”
The utility said drone inspections in 2022 showed 41 natural wood structures dispersed throughout the length of the power line had woodpecker damage, rotted or split pole tops, cracked arms and other damage. Eversource also identified other parts of the line as high-priority concerns.
Harwood questioned why Eversource would favor replacing the entire transmission line of 583 structures if 41 are damaged. He called it an “example of excessive spending.” The utility says most of the structures are made of wood and would be replaced with steel structures.
Eversource offered as an alternative to replacing 43 structures and other nearby equipment that require immediate attention. But that project would lead to “many additional future structure replacement projects” as structures continue to deteriorate, Eversource said.
“Our initial analysis of a pared-back alternative that would leave some component of the line in place indicated that such an approach would ultimately result in higher costs over time as we would eventually need to go back and replace those other aging components,” an Eversource spokeswoman said.
Critics of utilities have called out projects upgrading transmission systems paid for by ratepayers while delivering a return for investors. “Therefore, their incentive is to build big things, whether or not those things benefit ratepayers or local communities,” said backers of last year’s unsuccessful ballot measure to establish a publicly-owned power company.
Annual spending by major U.S. electric utilities on electric transmission more than quadrupled to $40 billion in 2019, from $9.1 billion in 2000, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Spending was focused on new transmission infrastructure and the operation and maintenance of transmission systems. Spending on new transmission capacity accounted for $23.5 billion, or 59%, of the $40 billion spent by major utilities.
Ari Peskoe, director of the Harvard Law School Electricity Law Initiative, said local transmission projects often involve replacing aging infrastructure for which it’s easier to obtain public permitting than new projects. The projects also are less expensive and are often more profitable, he said. Regional projects, on the other hand, are tougher to permit and typically require agreements among neighboring utilities to allocate costs, he said.
A Massachusetts photographer was seriously injured when he was stabbed during a wedding reception last month in Raymond, Maine.
Donald Halsing, 26, was hospitalized for five days after the stabbing on May 23. NBC affiliate News Center Maine reported that 26-year-old Andrew Manderson was arrested and charged with elevated aggravated assault.
Still recovering, Halsing told NBC10 Boston the attack came out of nowhere — one moment, he was snapping photos on the dance floor, while the next, he was searching for help as blood spilled onto his camera.
“I was sitting there in that chair thinking, ‘There’s a real possibility I could die here,’” Halsing said. “Immediately, I put my hand on my chest here to try and stop the bleeding, get some pressure on it, and started yelling for help.”
Halsing was working at the reception at the Kingsley Pine Campgrounds. He took his last photo at 9:01 p.m., minutes before the stabbing.
“One of the wedding guests came up to me and started asking questions about our business,” he said.
Halsing said it was nothing out of the ordinary, and he tried to explain his photography business to the inquiring guest through the pulse of the DJ booth and celebrating guests.
“I thought he was going to reach in his back pocket for his phone, and instead, he didn’t pull out his phone — he pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed me,” he said.
Manderson, who faced a judge days later, is a cousin of the bride.
“There was this look in his eyes that he wasn’t quite all there,” Halsing said.
Halsing’s fiancée, Ashley Wall, was feet away as he struggled to stay awake. She has been his photography partner for eight years since they met at Framingham State University, and she was helping him work the wedding.
“People who were around me, they asked, ‘What can we do to help you? What do you need?’ And I said, ‘Please go check on Ashley. Please go check on my fiancée,’” he recalled.
Halsing spent five days in the hospital suffering from two lacerations to his liver, ultimately developing a blood clot in his left leg. But the road to recovery exceeds his physical wounds as he contemplates his mental state when he resumes photography next year.
“I’m also worried about what lingering effects there might be,” he said. “If we get out on the dance floor and I start remembering what happened, I don’t know how I’m going to react.”
Halsing still doesn’t know why he was attacked.
Manderson was released on $50,000 bail and is due back in court in October.
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This story will be updated.
The Maine Department of Transportation is moving to slash up to $400 million in projects from its agenda, a shocking and abrupt cutback that is rattling the state’s construction industry at the start of building season.
Roughly $50 million across six pavement projects have already been delayed, according to a memo exclusively obtained by the Bangor Daily News. The agency plans to cut or delay another $150 million in bridge, highway, intersection and multimodal projects later this month. A further $200 million or more in cuts are planned in the next three-year work plan.
Those figures were outlined by Transportation Commissioner Dale Doughty in the May 18 memo to Gov. Janet Mills that has since circulated widely in the transportation sector, which has been getting drip-by-drip details on the wide scope of the cuts over the past three weeks.
It comes at the beginning of the state’s relatively narrow construction season. Companies have hired workers and ordered materials for projects they expected to begin this summer. The severity of the transportation budget problems was not raised to lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session.
Kelly Flagg, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Maine, called the shortfall “deeply troubling” in a statement.
“We stand ready to work with policymakers, stakeholders, and industry partners to identify both immediate and long-term solutions,” Flagg said. “Maine cannot afford to fall further behind.”
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The cuts stem from a structural funding gap of at least $130 million in the state’s current work plan, according to Doughty’s memo. Losses are magnified because state money from the gas tax and other revenue sources is matched by federal funds. Lawmakers have long grappled with politically difficult long-term problems with the state’s transportation budget.
A Mills spokesperson said Wednesday morning that the administration was working on a response to questions from the BDN. The department says it needs roughly $240 million more in state capital funding annually to maintain the existing system, and that anything less than $200 million will erode it over time.
Doughty’s memo the only near-term solution is a series of bonds beginning as soon as possible. Lawmakers would have to return to Augusta to authorize that if one is going to appear on the November ballot.
The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Michael Capeci is the former chairman of the Bangor GOP.
Let’s be honest about Maine’s current state.
For many families, the cost of living has become unsustainable. Housing is out of reach for many young people. Energy bills keep rising. Many small businesses are struggling under taxes and regulations that make it harder to grow. Rural hospitals are under strain and despite years of increased state spending, the results are not showing up in people’s daily lives.
Concurrently, Maine continues to lose young workers to other states. That is not a statistic, it is a warning sign.
To me, the question in this Republican primary for governor is not about slogans. It is whether we continue with a political approach that has failed to reverse these trends, or whether we nominate someone with new ideas. I think that someone is Owen McCarthy.
Owen is not a political insider. He is an entrepreneur from Patten, a small town where opportunity is not assumed, it is built. He grew up in a working-class family, became the first in his family to graduate from college graduating from the University of Maine, and founded MedRhythms, a healthcare technology company focused on neurological treatment.
He didn’t just talk about opportunity. He built it. That distinction matters, because Maine’s problem is not a lack of debate it is a lack of results. We have seen the trajectory: higher costs, slower growth, and a steady outmigration of young workers. I believe Owen McCarthy represents a break from that pattern.
His Maine 2040 plan focuses on creating 50,000 new jobs in sectors where Maine has real advantages — maritime and defense, advanced forest products, and life sciences. These are export-driven industries tied directly to Maine’s workforce, geography, and institutions. What sets Owen apart is not only what he proposes, but how he approaches governing.
He prioritizes modernizing permitting so projects do not stall. He supports using technology to reduce costs and increase efficiency. He focuses on making it easier to build, hire, and expand in Maine.
That same practical mindset extends to healthcare. Expanding telehealth, strengthening EMS systems, improving provider flexibility, and shifting toward earlier intervention are not abstract reforms. They are system upgrades designed to improve access while controlling costs.
Maine voters consistently respond to competence. They reward candidates who understand problems and present plans to solve them. I believe they are tired of rhetoric that does not translate into results, and skeptical of politics that prioritizes messaging over execution.
Owen’s approach is grounded in solving the issues that shape daily life — affordability, healthcare access, job creation, and government efficiency. That is not just policy positioning. It is a governing model that speaks directly to voters.
Some will point to his lack of political experience. But I believe Maine’s core problems are not the result of insufficient political experience; they are the result of policies that have failed to deliver measurable improvement. Experience inside a broken system, by itself, is not a solution.
If Republicans want to win, this primary must be taken seriously. From my perspective, it is not about choosing a nominee for governor who can energize the base. It is about selecting someone who can compete in a broader electorate that is frustrated and looking for change.
That requires a candidate who can speak beyond the base, not by abandoning principles, but by demonstrating competence and a credible plan to address Maine’s challenges. I believe Owen McCarthy offers that combination. He represents a shift away from managed decline and toward economic execution.
This is not just another primary. It is a decision about whether Republicans position themselves to win Maine or whether they remain trapped in a cycle of repeating the same strategies and expecting different outcomes.
If Republicans want to compete for Maine’s future, they cannot afford to nominate a candidate who only motivates part of the electorate. They need someone who expands it.
I believe Owen McCarthy is that candidate.
And if the goal is to win Maine, then the choice should be unmistakable
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