Central Maine Power is now spending millions of its rate payers’ dollars on a smear campaign, launching a new barrage of lies. They are accusing the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) of working with “Big Oil and Gas and Against Maine,” and that the “NRCM is selling out Maine’s future.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. For more that 60 years now, the NRCM’s purpose has been to protect Maine’s natural resources, and to work FOR Maine’s environment. Their mission is in stark contrast to CMP’s mission to generate high profits and enrich its foreign-owned parent company.
Please, citizens of Maine, ask yourself this: Who do you think really has the best interests of Mainers at heart? Which of these groups is honestly concerned about Maine, its environment, and clean energy? And which of these groups has a history of deception and lies that truly harms Mainers?
Here’s the real truth: CMP is spending a fortune to broadcast lies in order to gather support for its wildly unpopular and disastrous NECEC corridor project through Maine’s North Woods. Period. CMP knows that public opinion is NOT on their side and they are running scared.
If the folks at CMP were as smart as they think they are, they’d realize how Mainers despise their dishonesty and lies. They could save themselves the millions of dollars they’re throwing away on this deranged public relations campaign against the NRCM, and give up this doomed effort for the corridor. But they are not that smart or realistic. The best PR move they could make is to abandon this project; doing so would go a long way to endearing them to Mainers. CMP only sees the billions of dollars they would make on the corridor project. They are not concerned about Maine or what Mainers want.
Mainers have the power to defeat CMP by signing a petition to get this incredibly harmful corridor project on the ballot in November. We must show CMP and the folks in Augusta that we, the people of Maine (and the NRCM!) are the voices to which they should be listening.
G. Bud Samiljan
Durham
Pretty much the way I see it. Nice letter from a new face. Can’t wait to see the predictable responses.
Great read! Thank You!
I agree with this letter 100%. Well stated.
The proposed CMP corridor will mostly benefit Hydro Quebec and the Spanish owners of Avangrid and Iberdola, not the people of Western Maine certainly.
CMP stands to rake in $5 million a month if this corridor goes through, so one can see why they’ll spend ungodly sums to keep the deal alive. Meanwhile, the average Mainer will save about $0.37 a month (that’s about one whoopie pie a year). Fasten your safety belts. CMP’s misinformation is going to be a rough ride!
Great letter. The CMP and hydro Quebec disinformation campaign is well underway. I’ve come to despise hydro-quebec almost as much as CMP. Their motto is nothing under oath, but we’ll spend millions on false ads. Also remember hydro-quebec it’s wholly owned by the province of Quebec and they are lobbying Mainers in the media. So, a foreign country is attempting to change our election outcomes in Maine. I think that’s possibly illegal.
How can CMP that is rated the LOWEST in the entire United States for customer satisfaction and was FINED $450,000 for lapses in reliability possibly put ads on TV that are clearly false? Yet the PUC gave the OK for a rate increase and be supported by the governor whose brother sits on the board of a non-profit that has agreements with CMP!
How does this farce continue with the public in Maine clearly against the corridor and the state government and the regulators don’t seem to care?
Jim, the question that I want answered is WHY do the TV stations air these ads? What we see, then, is if the money is there, they air ANYTHING with no fact check, screening, or any similar process. “You pay, we play” and that’s it. CMP and HQ have spent $2.3 million during the past 3 months on propaganda including TV ads. Can’t go on youtube without seeing one of the offensive, and false ads. And that $2.3 million – that’s OUR money. I had an exchange with one of the CMP lobbyists yesterday and told him that there was scientific proof, supported by over a decade of research, that the HQ hydropower source was NOT clean and that his group needed to stop lying and using that statement. He responded by saying: “Further, your request that we, the pro-clean-energy people, refrain from asserting the very core of our argument is the antithesis of good will.” Money over FACT is a great mantra for a lobbyist, hey?
I truly enjoy it when people say things like “spending taxpayers’ money” or in this case “ratepayers’ money” how and where CMP chooses to spend its money is of little concern as it is their money to do with as they see fit. No company is “clean” when it comes to dealing with the public, that is just the nature of the beast. It doesn’t matter if it is coal companies lying about the hazards of their slag ponds, oil companies lying about deep well injections, the nuclear industry lying about the safety of long-term storage sites of spent fuel rods, the medical community mishandling their cobalt-60 waste, or how solar farms in CA fry 6,000 birds a year.
And why the hang up on where the parent company is located, Emera is Canadian owned, Tracfone is Mexican owned, Lexus is Japanese owned, Lamborgini is German owned, Chrysler is Italian owned, Oh no, RAM pickups aren’t Dodges anymore the world is ending…the 1500s have Fiat motors…oh the humanity.
Without the DC transmission line and HQ power occupying the CMP owned corridor, It will leave it wide open for a wind power onslaught ( all in development stage ), occupying land far and wide of the corridor as well as the corridor.
The people fighting the NECEC now will be aligned against the very entities ( NRCM, NextEra, Calpine ) they now align themselves with. Not to mention a State Legislature full of wind friendly advocates.
HB, how you coming on your contacts regarding the EIS? Would love to hear any updates.
HB, while you are correct in some aspects of your commentary, the salient point here is that cmp is spending this money on lies and the NECEC is current news and, therefore, gaining attention. It’s the way things are. Recently, I cited several peer-reviewed articles that reflect over a decade of research and which scientifically proves that power from HQ is NOT clean and is actually as dirty as a coal-fired generation plant. When I confronted one of the cmp lobbyists and asked him to cease calling power from HQ his response was “it’s our core message”. So, they are obviously comfortable with lying. Sure, it’s their money, but it nevertheless rankles me and others because it such an obvious lie. Irviing is a foreign company along with who you mention, but are any of those companies involved in a high profile power corridor or other invasive project? Are any of these others blatantly cheating ratepayers? That, I believe, is the difference.
There is a lot they could do if they were smart enough. I might look at things a little different if instead of hollow promises they offered to back our MDIFW in stocking programs,deer wintering yards and the like. What I am saying is a little long term giving back for the long term taking. I would fire the whole upper management for not being able to make this a win-win for everybody. As it stands we gain nothing but another mess along with wind turbines to gaze at in Vacationland.
Clayton McKay – You are correct but wind will be tied to this corridor with or without NECEC. This is one of the many reasons I oppose NECEC and other lines CMP has planned. ( See Maine Clean Power Connect and Maine Renewable Energy Interconnect) At this point Maine generates more power than we use. “We” need to address climate change. But who is “we”. Since Maine is already a net exporter I contend Maine is not “we”. But it is clear that the actual “we”, MA, CT, RI, and possibly further, expect that Maine will bear the burden of generation from wind for them. They choose not to do so in their own states to any meaningful degree (we can wait and see how offshore works out for them) and our current and past three Governors have put a for sale sign on Maine. If info I read is accurate NECEC will cover @ 1/25th of the ISO NE load on any given day. If we allow NECEC, guess what, “we” will be back for more. To get an education on what is on the table for future wind in Maine I urge all to take the time to Google 83 D bids and click on each link to see what is planned in Maine. I believe there were @ 10 wind respondents in Maine to the 83 D RFP, all just awaiting a power purchase agreement. None were chosen in this round but there will be more RFP’s. So unless you want to see wind towers in many directions the real “we”, the people of Maine, need to give CMP/Avangrid/Iberdrola, HQ, Weaver Wind, Longroad Wind, Bryant Wind, and all the others a resounding NO. Maine should not be the Saudi Arabia of wind for other states.