Heavy machinery is used to cut trees to widen an existing Central Maine Power power line corridor to make way for new utility poles in 2021, near Bingham. Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press, file

Three Massachusetts utilities and Central Maine Power’s parent company have agreed that Massachusetts ratepayers must shoulder $512 million in additional costs caused by delays in construction of a power transmission project in Maine that will allow Canadian hydropower to reach the New England power grid.

Proponents said Wednesday that the project aimed at supplying enough clean energy to power about 1 million homes still represents a good deal for ratepayers and the environment despite delays and new costs.

Press Herald graphic by Michael Fisher

Advertisement

“Even with these unanticipated costs, this is clean energy at a pretty good price. I’m not sure we’ll be at prices this low in the future. So we should grit our teeth, absorb the extra expense and get on with it,” said Massachusetts state Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington, co-chair of the Legislature’s Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee.

The project’s cost grew from $1 billion to at least $1.5 billion because of inflation and delays caused by opponents, requiring the Massachusetts Legislature to give its approval late last year for most of the added costs to be passed on to ratepayers.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and attorney general’s office signed onto the agreement, which the parties submitted to the state Department of Utilities for approval on Monday. Central Maine Power’s parent, Avangrid, did not seek to recover $100 million spent in a legal and referendum battle, according to an official.

Supporters of the project say the 1,200 megawatts of electricity it provides would lower electric rates across the region, reduce carbon pollution and help Massachusetts to meet its clean energy goals. Developers previously said they expect the project to be completed by late next year but there are provisions for pushing the completion date further back.

“This transmission line should drive down overall electricity prices and deliver new, reliable power to Massachusetts and New England as we transition to clean energy. We look forward to clean hydropower to begin flowing to our state soon,” said Elizabeth Mahoney, energy resources commissioner, and Liz Anderson, from the attorney general’s office.

Despite the change, Massachusetts ratepayers would save about $3.4 billion over the 20-year contract, and the use of hydropower represents the carbon reduction equivalent of taking 660,000 cars off the road, said Kim Harriman, Avangrid’s senior vice president for public and regulatory affairs.

Avangrid and Canada’s Hydro Quebec teamed up on the project that called for a 145-mile (233-kilometer) power transmission line, mostly following existing corridors. But a new 53-mile (85-kilometer) section had to be carved through the woods to reach the Canadian border, something environmental and conservation groups decried.

The project had to overcome multiple hurdles.

It won all regulatory approvals, but work was halted after Maine voters rebuked the project in a November 2021 referendum. A jury concluded the referendum was unconstitutional because it violated the developers’ vested rights.

Copy the Story Link

PORTLAND, Maine — Three Massachusetts utilities and Central Maine Power’s parent company have agreed that Massachusetts ratepayers must shoulder $512 million in additional costs caused by delays in construction of a power transmission project in Maine that will allow Canadian hydropower to reach the New England power grid.

Proponents said Wednesday that the project aimed at supplying enough clean energy to power about 1 million homes still represents a good deal despite delays and new costs.

“Even with these unanticipated costs, this is clean energy at a pretty good price. I’m not sure we’ll be at prices this low in the future. So we should grit our teeth, absorb the extra expense and get on with it,” said Massachusetts state Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington, co-chair of the Legislature’s Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee.

The project’s cost grew from $1 billion to at least $1.5 billion because of inflation and delays caused by opponents, requiring the Massachusetts Legislature to give its approval late last year for most of the added costs to be passed on to ratepayers.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and attorney general’s office signed onto the agreement, which the parties submitted to the state Department of Utilities for approval on Monday.

Supporters of the project say the 1,200 megawatts of electricity it provides would lower electric rates across the region, reduce carbon pollution and help Massachusetts to meet its clean energy goals.

“This transmission line should drive down overall electricity prices and deliver new, reliable power to Massachusetts and New England as we transition to clean energy. We look forward to clean hydropower to begin flowing to our state soon,” said Elizabeth Mahoney, energy resources commissioner, and Liz Anderson, from the attorney general’s office.

Documents filed with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities indicate Massachusetts ratepayers would save about $3.4 billion over the 20-year contract based on forecasted prices.

Central Maine Power’s parent company, Avangrid, and Canada’s Hydro Quebec teamed up on the project that called for a 145-mile (233-kilometer) power transmission line, mostly following existing corridors. But a new 53-mile (85-kilometer) section had to be carved through the woods to reach the Canadian border, something environmental and conservation groups decried.

The project had to overcome multiple hurdles.

It won all regulatory approvals, but work was halted after Maine voters rebuked the project in a November 2021 referendum. A jury concluded the referendum was unconstitutional because it violated the developers’ vested rights.

Read housed Yannetti, Jackson, Little, and herself in the same hotel throughout the trial so they could maximize preparation time. She paid $1.2 million leading up to and during the nine-week court proceedings between bails; accommodating, feeding, and transporting three lawyers; and hiring private investigators and experts. For that, she used her savings, about $500,000 from her since-depleted legal fund, and $400,000 donated by friends and family. She now has more than $5 million in deferred legal bills and a second trial looming.

The first one was “trial on a budget,” according to Read. Since she couldn’t afford to fly out support staff from Jackson and Little’s firm, Read became the support staff herself. She negotiated rates with two Uber drivers to shuttle the team to and from court. Read is aware her team has been photographed exiting (discounted) SUVs and surrounded by (volunteer) security, and dining out (the bill often picked up by friends or family members). As for criticism that her team occasionally enjoys upscale restaurants, she says, “You try feeding Alan Jackson McDonald’s.”

“We don’t typically work that closely with clients,” says Little, who became partner during trial due to her long hours. “But in this case, we needed every hand on deck.”

“LOCK THIS WHACK JOB UP”

About 10 months after O’Keefe’s death, the Office of the US Attorney for Massachusetts empaneled a federal grand jury as part of an investigation into an unspecified federal crime related to Norfolk County’s handling of Read’s case. The impetus is unknown; Levy will not comment on active investigations and, nearly two years into the probe, his team has not yet reached a conclusion. “When the FBI steps in, that usually is an indication that they are in possession of some information that is extremely damaging to the law enforcement agencies involved,” says Tom Nolan, a 27-year Boston police officer turned criminal justice professor at Emmanuel College who is not involved in Read’s case. Last year, the Alberts, McCabes, and other witnesses were subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury, according to state court proceedings.

It is incredibly logistically complicated to pursue a federal investigation into an active state murder investigation—in part because two agencies are interviewing the same witnesses simultaneously. Zach Hafer, a former federal prosecutor and Cooley LLP partner, tells me, “I can’t think of a time in my 14 years in the US Attorney’s Office where that happened. Presumably, it’s some type of federal obstruction or witness-tampering investigation—a cover-up of some sort.”

“In these types of cases, it is common for prosecutors to grant certain witnesses immunity to help them determine what happened and whether there is a provable federal crime. The US Attorney’s Office has always prioritized the prosecution of law enforcement misconduct,” says Hafer, pointing out that making false statements to a federal agent is a felony carrying a five-year sentence. “So even if an individual wasn’t guilty of the underlying offense—here, murder—lying about it after the fact to federal investigators is another potential charge.”

Shortly before the trial began, the feds provided more than 3,000 pages of findings to the defense and prosecution, including Proctor’s texts about Read.
A sampling:

she’s a babe, weird fall river accent though, no ass

She’s got a leaky balloon knot, leaks poo

Waiting to lock this whack job up

Hopefully she kills herself.

The federal investigation found that Brian Albert destroyed his cell phone the day before receiving a protection order to preserve it and its contents. (Albert said the timing was a coincidence, and he was due for an upgrade.) Also: that on January 30, Higgins, the ATF agent who’d been at the Alberts’, asked another federal agent for advice on extracting phone data. Months later, he drove to a military base to dispose of his destroyed phone and SIM card. (Higgins testified that the target of a different investigation had found his contact information.) The feds also determined that Higgins went to the Canton Police Station—where he worked from—after leaving the Albert home, though he was off duty and had been drinking. (He says he was reshuffling cars.) He spent much of the following day, a Saturday when he was still off duty, there—passing through the garage where Read’s car was eventually kept—until about 6 p.m. The federal investigation found a 22-second call between Albert and Higgins at 2:22 a.m.—five minutes before McCabe’s alleged “hos long to die in cold” search. The men said that both the dialing and pickup of those calls were “butt dials.”

Though the federal findings were disclosed, Morrissey appealed to Cannone days before the trial began to prohibit mention of the federal investigation in court, arguing that it would be prejudicial. Cannone approved the request, meaning Read’s lawyers could not so much as utter the letters “FBI” before the jury. When questioning forensic reconstructionists hired by the Department of Justice, for example, the most Jackson could say was that they were hired by an independent agency. Several jurors reportedly took that to mean they worked for an insurance company.