LEWISTON – When Joe Elie bought 15 acres on Old Webster Road last year, he dreamed of building a house. The Lewiston engineer loved the area, loved that he could live close to work but away from the hustle and bustle of the inner city.

He cleared a patch of land and planned to start building in the next few years.

Last week, he learned that Central Maine Power Co. wants to set 370 miles of high-capacity power lines between Eliot and Orrington. Some of the highest voltage lines would run through Lewiston and within 200 to 300 feet of his future house.

Suddenly, Elie said, his dream house wasn’t such a dream.

“They’re putting in some really, really big lines, much bigger than anything that’s ever been done around here,” he said. “There’s health effects and property value effects.”

Elie and other property owners say high-voltage lines buzz, require taller and wider poles and emit a high electromagnetic field that they fear could cause cancer. They’re asking the Maine Public Utilities Commission to consider the project’s ramifications before giving it an official OK.

CMP says it needs the massive upgrade if it’s going to improve reliability, harness more environmentally friendly energy from the north and head off significant power outages in the years to come.

“We need to balance our energy needs against the types of objections people will have,” CMP spokesman John Carroll said.

The project – called the Maine Power Reliability Program – calls for redoing a nearly 40-year-old swath of power lines. The swath starts south in Eliot and passes through central Maine in Litchfield, Monmouth, Leeds, Greene, Lewiston and a corner of Auburn at the Durham line. It stops in Orrington, where it connects with lines from Canada.

In some places, lines would be rebuilt or replaced. In other places new lines would be added. The project is expected to cost more than $1 billion and take three to five years to complete.

Elie and others in and around Old Webster Road are upset about the project’s plan to place some of the highest voltage lines through their neighborhood – the areas of Routes 196 and 126, and the back edge of Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary. Currently, 115 kilovolts lines pass through much of the area. CMP wants 345-kV lines there. A kilovolt is 1,000 volts.

Both 115 kV and 345 kV are cross-country lines and do not run along streets or roads, according to Maine’s Office of the Public Advocate.

While 115-kV lines are common in Maine, the more powerful lines are not. The 345-kV poles are wider, can require dozens of feet of additional land and are, depending on location, about 20 to 25 feet taller than the lower-voltage poles.

Residents say the higher voltage lines also make noise – buzzing regularly and sizzling or popping when raindrops hit them. Although high electromagnetic fields have not been proven to cause health problems, the possibility scares people.

They also worry about the value of their property if it sits in the shadow of major power lines.

Sandra Brown-Eustis and her husband live near Elie’s property. They’d planned to sell their home and retire in a couple of years. But they believe 345-kV power lines are set to go within a couple hundred feet of their house, and they can’t imagine anyone will want to buy it.

“Then what are we going to do?” she asked.

Elie, Brown-Eustis and several others have filed with the PUC to become “interveners” in the project. That means they’ll be able to attend witness hearings, ask questions and generally participate in the process as the PUC considers the project. Anyone affected by the CMP proposal can ask to be an intervener or a less official “interested person.”

The city of Lewiston has filed as an intervener. Although the city has no official position on the project, Deputy City Administrator Phil Nadeau said Lewiston is concerned about planned placement of some of the lines. It also wants up-to-date information to answer people’s questions when they arise.

The PUC is expected to spend months holding hearings and gathering information. It likely won’t have a decision until May, a spokesman said.

The PUC’s approval is required for CMP to move forward with its project.

Although CMP spokesman John Carroll declined to address Lewiston residents’ specific concerns, he acknowledged that there was some worry about the project, particularly among the 4,000 abutters statewide.

CMP’s plan is a good one that addresses Maine’s growing power needs, Carroll said.

“If those are four big concerns – price, environment, reliability and economic growth – this is a plan that lands smack in the middle,” he said. “The question is, are we ready to embrace a solution?”

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Who: Central Maine Power Co.

What: Public meeting on the Maine Power Reliability Program

When: Sept. 9, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Ramada Inn, Lewiston

To be considered an intervener or interested person by the PUC, contact:

PUC Administrative Director

Maine Public Utilities Commission

242 State St.

SHS 18

Augusta, ME 04333

FAX: 287-1039

Be sure to note docket No. 2008255, Maine Power Reliability Program

Copies of the petition to intervene should also be sent to:

Regulatory Services

Central Maine Power Co.

83 Edison Drive

Augusta, ME 04336