SMPDC developing Southern Maine Energy Resilience Plan

Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission is developing a plan to improve energy reliability in Southern Maine.

A few years ago, Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC) worked with local municipalities on climate action planning, said Karina Graeter, sustainability division director with SMPDC. While working on the project, SMPDC heard from area businesses and residents that power outages were a big concern, she said.Many people were worried that climate change and the increase of demands on the electric grid could cause longer or more frequent power outages, said Graeter.

This feedback spurred SMPDC to work on its current project of developing a Southern Maine Energy Resilience Plan. Consultants are taking “a deep-dive look” into the power outage data specific to our region, and the impacts and costs to area businesses and residents, said Graeter.

The project team is hosting focus groups in late May to look more into the data that the commission is receiving and gain feedback from the community. For more information about the focus groups, contact Graeter at kgraeter@smpdc.org.

SMPDC and the Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry hosted Central Maine Power CEO Joe Purington for a discussion and question and answer session at Saco City Hall on April 30.

Central Maine Power has 25,000 miles of power lines that deliver power to 675,000 electricity customers in an 11,000 square-mile service area in central and southern Maine, said Purington.

Purington discussed some of the challenges the power company is facing. One is aging infrastructure that is not equipped for the future.

“The grid is operating in different ways than it had before,” he said.

The older infrastructure is designed for one way flow of electricity, said Purington. With the increase of solar power, energy is now flowing in two directions, as excess produced energy gets sent to the grid.

Maine is also the most heavily forested state in the country, and approximately two thirds of CMP’s customers are within 20 miles of the coast.

CMP has embarked on a long-term plan to replace older lines that can handle modern energy flow, and to install smart devices that can remotely direct power if powerlines are damaged.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.