I was pleased to hear the news regarding the efforts to revive the New England Clean Energy Connect project. We will do well to remember that the campaign against the NECEC was funded by fossil fuel interests that pumped more than $20 million into Maine to sway voters.

Companies like Calpine and NextEra are now reaping the rewards of their investment at our expense, recording billions in profits. Their goal is to maintain the status quo and keep us heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

People should look at how the Standard Offer for electricity has climbed since the “vote” — $0.064 per kilowatt hour in 2021 to $0.118 in 2022 and now $0.176 in 2023. They played on the fears and emotions of the voters to reject a project that, without question, would help our state.

The Maine Supreme Court has already ruled that the referendum to kill it may very well be unconstitutional. No project should be retroactively killed, and I fear what may happen in the future when other renewable energy projects are proposed, not only in Maine but across the country.

If we knew then what we know now, would more of us have voted in favor of this project? While the corridor may not have helped us this year, there is every reason to believe this scenario could play out and hurt us for years to come.

The New England energy grid needs to become more diverse. The NECEC goes a long way to doing just that.

Clayton Putnam, Livermore Falls

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