Municipalities

We understand that you, as a municipal official, are busy fielding questions from renewable energy developers about town ordinances, permits and other processes, as well as from your residents who wonder whether the new solar array(s) being built nearby will bring a discount on their bills (only if they subscribe to it.)

Below, please find general information regarding our role and those situations when a developer or CMP will seek permits, easements or access rights, plus information about supply capacity.

CMP’s Role

CMP is not a developer of distributed generation (DG) projects, including community generation and community solar, as we are not a power generator. Our role includes: 

  • Connecting DG to our energy grid: CMP works with renewable energy generators to interconnect their systems with ours and distributes the electricity over our infrastructure to homes and businesses. A distribution line extension or upgrade may be needed, and CMP or its contractors will construct the extension or upgrade, not the developer.
  • Applying credits to utility bills: CMP administers the bill crediting for residential, commercial and industrial customers who participate in or subscribe to a DG program, including community programs, in accordance with Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) rules.

The community solar developers are the primary contact with customers as these are their projects. CMP will reach out to households or businesses that may be affected by the construction of distribution line upgrades or extensions or regarding their billing credits.

Supply Capacity

CMP has received a few questions regarding supply capacity on our system, namely "is there enough room” on our infrastructure in your area to support a generator’s interconnection. Here is a high-level answer that we hope you’ll find helpful:

Capacity is studied upon receipt of a generator’s interconnection study application to CMP. There is no hard cap on the ability for generators to interconnect to the distribution system at any given location. If during the study it is determined that a larger or additional transformer (and possibly other elements) is required to accommodate the interconnection, the costs associated with those upgrades will be included in the study results and presented to our generation customer. The generation customer then can elect to move ahead with the interconnection or withdraw.

Developers’ Responsibilities:

  • Permits: The renewable energy developer is required to get all necessary local, state and/or federal permits for its project. If the facility requires a distribution line extension or upgrade to safely connect it to our grid, the developer or CMP will pursue any local, state, and/or federal permits that may be needed.
  • Easements: Easements may be needed if a developer needs to extend or upgrade a distribution line. Property easements are obtained by the generator for the placement and maintenance of the line if it crosses private property, ensuring appropriate distance on each side of the line for CMP to have property access in order to perform maintenance or repairs due to an emergency.
  • Access Rights: Developers, too, secure access rights on private properties if a road is needed to get to a renewable energy generation facility.

Contacts:

Please let us know if you have any additional questions. For CMP project-related questions, the Public Outreach team can be reached via our Project Information Line number at 1-888-267-0831 or email at [email protected]. Customers with questions about their bills and credits should call our Customer Care Center at 1-800-750-4000 or visit cmpco.com.