IMAGES: CMP Completes Summer Upgrades to Portland Area Grid Infrastructure
Work enhances capacity and reliability for customers in Greater Portland
Portland, ME — September 20, 2024 – With Fall 2024 beginning this weekend, Central Maine Power (CMP) is reaching completion on multiple reliability projects in the Greater Portland area representing weeks of work performed this summer.
These projects include:
Installing new wire on grid sections that deliver power to the Old Port. This will provide increased reliability for more than 1,000 customers including many large businesses and buildings in Portland’s downtown by improving one of the arteries through which power is delivered to this area.
Replacing a large substation transformer in Falmouth. This upgrade benefits more than 3,300 customers in Falmouth and eastern sections of Portland by preventing overloading. Additional improvements to grid sections in Falmouth Foreside were made to allow more efficient restoration during storms.
Completing Work at the Forest Ave. Substation on Marginal Way. This substation serves approximately 5,000 customers in the Marginal Way area, including parts of Maine Medical Center. The newly built substation replaces one that was 50 years-old. The facility’s footprint was expanded and it provides capacity to serve increased electricity demand on the Portland Peninsula.
Installing new, larger, higher capacity cable that delivers power to the Spring Street area in Westbrook. This will provide improved reliability and capacity for dozens of commercial customers in the city.
In addition to this work, CMP crews have been taking advantage of favorable, clear weather in recent weeks to conduct preventative maintenance and complete other reliability projects across the CMP system.
“Summer and early fall are critical times for our teams to take advantage of every clear day and work ahead to keep our system hardened,” said Adam Desrosiers, Vice President of Electric Operations for CMP. “Thanks to this summer’s weather, we’ve been able to make great progress that will benefit tens of thousands of our customers.”
“We’re looking forward to speaking with customers about the benefits of these initiatives and all the other key CMP projects completed and ongoing across Maine,” said Linda Ball, Vice President of Customer Service for CMP. “We encourage anyone interested in improvements made in their area to contact us or attend one of our Community Connection Events to find out more.”
In Greater Portland, work will continue into fall with the expected completion of the rebuild of a section of CMP’s fiber optic network in Portland, South Portland and Westbrook. This network runs beneath transmission lines in the area. When all 3.5 miles of cable are active, more information will be sent back and forth between this section of the grid and CMP’s Energy Control Center.
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About Central Maine Power: Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc., is Maine’s largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. Established in 1899 and based in Augusta, Maine, CMP serves approximately 646,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. It operates approximately 23,500 miles of distribution lines and 2,900 miles of transmission lines. Over the last decade, the company has invested approximately $3.5 billion in Maine system infrastructure. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $46 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens – in 2024 for the fourth consecutive year. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.