Hydro-Québec and its American partner won their case before the Supreme Court of Maine, which recognized that the referendum which said no to the interconnection project to Massachusetts was unconstitutional. But the road to this lucrative contract is still blocked by other legal pitfalls.
Updated yesterday at 5:59 p.m.
The court referred the case to a lower court, which will have to determine whether the permits and authorizations obtained by Avangrid, Hydro-Québec’s American partner, were obtained in accordance with laws and regulations and whether the company acted in good faith in the process. Additional delays that could jeopardize the Hydro-Québec contract are to be expected.
Construction work on the 233-kilometre line to connect Quebec to the State of Massachusetts, via Maine, was already well advanced when opponents from the State of Maine obtained the green light to allow the population to decide on the project by referendum.
At 59%, the opponents rejected the interconnection project and decided that this ban should apply retroactively to the start of the work during the popular consultation held on November 2, 2021.
It is this retroactivity that the Supreme Court has just ruled illegal. However, the referral of the case to the Superior Court of the State will cause additional delays which could be fatal for the Hydro-Québec contract.
It is too early to move forward on this issue, however, said Hydro-Quebec spokesperson Lynn Saint-Laurent.
What we can say is that the decision of the Supreme Court of Maine is favorable for the future, but we are still in the middle of a legal process. Take the time to analyze the decision.
Lynn Saint-Laurent, spokesperson for Hydro-Québec
In addition to the referral to a trial court, Hydro-Quebec and its partner are awaiting another decision from the Supreme Court of Maine regarding a controversial lease on a 1.4 kilometer portion of the route on public lands.
“Hydro-Québec and its American partner NECEC Transmission LLC are currently studying the court decisions in order to determine the follow-up to be given, as well as the potential impacts on the construction schedule of the transmission line”, officially announced the two companies.
Massachusetts expects to receive its first deliveries of electricity from Quebec in 2024. There is “some leeway” on this side, Hydro-Québec said.
Opponents of the project, for their part, hope that the additional delays will discourage Massachusetts, which will turn to options other than that offered by Hydro-Québec. One of them, Tom Saviello, told local media that the fight against the interconnection project is a “marathon” with the last stages being the most difficult.
Hydro-Quebec and Avangrid have come up against the opposition of several environmentalists, but also a common front of electricity producers in the region, including Calpine, who fear losing ground to the benefit of renewable energies.
Works stopped
Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power, the state’s main electricity supplier, says it has already spent US$450 million on construction of the transmission line, the total cost of which is estimated at US1.2 billion. Deforestation work was carried out and pylons were erected on portions of the route, before being stopped due to the referendum.
In Quebec, work estimated at $600 million on the Quebec portion of the transmission line to the 103-kilometre-long Maine border has been put on hold due to the blockage on the U.S. side.
The commissioning of the transmission line has been postponed several times. Hydro-Quebec has agreed to deliver 9.45 terawatt hours of electricity to Massachusetts for 20 years, a contract that should bring in several billion dollars in additional revenue. The average selling price of electricity is 8.8 cents per kilowatt hour, or double the industrial rate in Quebec.
The proposed transmission line through Maine is the alternative developed by Hydro-Quebec and its U.S. partner after their first route through New Hampshire, known as the Northern Pass, was rejected.