About the Project

Section 80 Project

A visual simulation shows new, taller weathered-brown light-duty steel (single) monopoles that CMP will install at an offset to the south of the existing line.

Overview

As communities grow and the need for electricity increases, Central Maine Power Company (CMP) responds by investing in system upgrades to meet demands. Beginning in summer 2023, CMP will be upgrading its Section 80 115kV transmission line to provide safe and reliable service to our customers in Mid-Coast Maine and consumers in New England.

This approximately 22-mile transmission line travels between Coopers Mills Substation in Windsor through Jefferson, Washington, Waldoboro, and Warren to Highland Substation.

Section 80 is referred to as a Pool Transmission Facility, which means it is a high voltage transmission line that serves as a major component of the New England electric system. The section upgrade costs will be shared among New England customers, with more than 90 percent paid by other states.

Project Need

The Section 80 existing line is a H-frame wooden structure configuration with conductor that is outmoded and becomes thermally overloaded under certain conditions. 

In June 2022, The Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved CMP’s application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which demonstrated the public need to rebuild the existing 115kV transmission line to address high-level reliability and capacity needs, especially in worst-case conditions. 

Project Scope (Estimated timetable)

• The project is expected to start in June 2023 with the placement of timber ground mats in our right of way (ROW) beginning in Windsor enroute to Warren. Construction should be completed in 2024. Final cleanup and punch-list activities may occur in 2025.
• All work will occur in our existing 150-foot ROW.
• New, taller weathered-brown light-duty steel (single) monopoles and 1192 ACSR conductor will be installed at an offset to the south of the existing line. Fewer than 5 percent of the structures will be placed on concrete foundations. The majority will be directly embedded into a hole in the ground that is backfilled with concrete, then tamped and compacted.
• Once the new line is energized, the existing line will be removed, and the area will be restored.
• By building the new line offset from the existing energized line, we do not need to take a prolonged outage of the existing line.