VIDEO: Major CMP Grid Reliability Project Nears Completion

The rebuild of Section 80 of CMP’s transmission system, a 22-mile-long segment stretching from Windsor to Warren is expected to be energized in the next several months.


Link to B/Roll included.


Augusta, ME — June 5, 2024 – As of this week, one of Central Maine Power (CMP)’s largest grid reliability projects currently underway is nearing completion. The Section 80 Rebuild is a $85 million project approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) in 2022. This work involves replacing wooden structures along a 115-kilovolt transmission line that is approximately 22-miles long with stronger poles made of steel and installing new conductor wire.

Installation of the new line is currently 85% complete. The initial need for the upgrades was identified in 2019 and this project addresses outmoded structure types and the potential for thermal overloading on this section under certain conditions.

“You can think of this line like a state road as opposed to an interstate,” said Adam Desrosiers, CMP’s Vice President of Electric Operations. “Just as state roads compliment interstates, getting large numbers of people where they need to go, Section 80 is a major component of not just Maine’s grid, but the transmission system throughout New England. These upgrades will make this fundamental part of our region’s grid more prepared for stronger storms and the impacts of climate change for decades to come.”

Following the energization of the new line, which is expected by late summer or early fall, the pre-existing lines and the wooden structures they are on will be de-energized and taken down.

Below is a link to downloadable, recent b/roll of the ongoing work on CMP’s Section 80 taken from both the ground and a drone:

B/Roll of CMP Section 80 Project Work captured on May 30, 2024 

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