LEWISTON — Central Maine Power Co.’s plan to upgrade its transmission lines through Maine will get two local Lewiston reviews over the next week.

A representative for the Maine Public Advocate’s office will update neighbors on the plan’s status and Maine’s energy policy at 7 p.m.Thursday at the Lewiston Multi-Purpose Center, 145 Birch St.

Lewiston’s Planning Board hosts a workshop on the power line upgrade at 6 p.m. Monday at the Multi-Purpose Center.

“It’s just an opportunity for CMP to show the Planning Board what they have planned, physically, in Lewiston,” said Lewiston Planner David Hediger. In Lewiston, the company plans to build a new substation on Larrabee Road as well as expand lines through the area.

Both meetings are open to the public.

The utility is gearing up for hearings with the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Commissioners are scheduled to hear expert testimony on the plan Feb. 2 through 12.

CMP’s proposal calls for upgrading a nearly 40-year-old swath of power lines, starting in Eliot and passing through central Maine in Litchfield, Monmouth, Leeds, Greene, Lewiston and a corner of Auburn at the Durham line. They stop in Orrington, where they connect to lines from Canada.

In some places, lines would be rebuilt or replaced. In other places, lines would be added, including 115-kilovolt and 34.5-kilovolt lines. The 34.5-kilovolt poles, not common in Maine, are wider than traditional power-line towers and, depending on location, are about 20 to 25 feet taller than the lower-voltage poles.

The project would affect about 4,000 property abutters statewide. If approved, it could take three to five years to complete. Opponents say the 345-kilovolt lines buzz and emit an electromagnetic field they fear could cause cancer.

staylor@sunjournal.com

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