The Project

The North American electric grid upon which our society relies for electric service is built on a backbone of large, interconnected high voltage transmission lines. The Northeast Reliability Interconnect (NRI) is a high voltage transmission line between the Bangor area and New Brunswick, Canada. Although Maine shares over 600 miles of border with Canada, previously only one major backbone transmission line linked the two regions and their electrical system operations. This second line will improve electric system reliability, stability and efficiency in addition to expanding competition and electric energy exchanges between New England and the Maritimes. The Maine section of the line is owned and operated by Bangor Hydro; the New Brunswick section of the line is owned and operated by New Brunswick Power.

Project Purpose

The Northeast Reliability Interconnect (NRI) is a 345 kV electric transmission line between the Bangor area and New Brunswick Canada. The NRI provides a number of benefits directly to Bangor Hydro Electric Company’s customer base, the region, the state and the Maritimes.

The NRI improves reliability and power quality of the electrical system by enhancing the connection between Maine and the Maritimes through an additional link of the two systems. This allows for an increased capability for North-South and South-North electrical flows, thus enhancing trade opportunities. NRI also allows for expansion of competition and market opportunities for Maine and Canada.

The project results in a reduction in line losses, which contributes to large-scale energy efficiency and lower costs of import and export delivery. Currently about 5% of the energy customers pay for is converted to heat and lost during transfer. Additionally, the NRI provides northern and eastern Maine with improved access to the U.S. electrical grid. Much of northern and eastern Maine is directly connected to the New Brunswick electrical system, and with the NRI creating a better connection between Maine and Canada, northern and eastern Maine will also receive benefit from that improvement.

Reliability, stability and power quality improvements, as well as infrastructure investments, will all serve to create a more robust electrical system and reduce costs. Reduction in energy costs will allow for the foundation of regional economic development. The state of Maine desperately needs economic improvements and the NRI will prove to be an integral component of any economic development for the future.

Permitting History

Bangor Hydro’s portion of the Project was issued U.S. regulatory approvals in the 1990s, which included receipt of a Presidential Permit (PP-89) in January 1996 which authorized the construction, operation, maintenance and connection of facilities for the transmission of electric energy between the U.S. and Canada. Those approvals were for a route known as the Stud Mill Road Route, connecting Baileyville to Orrington, Maine. That route generally followed the direction of the Stud Mill Road, but importantly, did depart from the road by several thousand feet at times. After obtaining both federal and state permits for the proposed facilities, a variety of circumstances prevented Bangor Hydro from commencing construction of the Project. Bangor Hydro received the original state permit in 1992, with permit extension requests granted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 1994 and 1996. In 1999, Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. (M&N) constructed a gas transmission pipeline adjacent to the Stud Mill Road and in the vicinity of the Project’s previously approved corridor. In 2001, acting on a request from Bangor Hydro for a third extension of the relevant state environmental permits, the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP), Maine’s primary environmental review entity, conducted a hearing process and indicated a preference to use a route more closely consolidated with established linear corridors. In response to that request, Bangor Hydro gave the project a new start and initiated a process to solicit input on five identified route alternatives from a wide variety of stakeholders.

In addition to Bangor Hydro’s request for a Presidential Permit modification, Bangor Hydro needed a number of permits to go forward with the project. From the State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection Bangor Hydro requested a Site Location of Development permit, a Natural Resources Protection Act Permit and Federal 401 Water Quality Certification. Additionally, Bangor Hydro applied for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval of the modified route. Bangor Hydro received all permits for construction in late 2005 and early 2006.

Specific information on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Department of Energy Presidential Permit Application can be found on the Department of Energy project website.

Current Efforts

Construction started in the summer of 2006 and progressed through 2007. The line construction was contracted to InfraSource Transmission Services and the substation contract was awarded to Cianbro Corp and E.S. Boulos Company.

Both line and substation work were completed on schedule, and the line was enegergized on December 5, 2007.