Service to Maine Island Community to Improve with New Submarine Cable in Place

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

AUGUSTA, MAINE, February 29, 2016  Homes and businesses on Islesboro will have more reliable electric service, now that Central Maine Power, a subsidiary of AVANGRID (NYSE:AGR), has energized a new undersea cable to serve the Penobscot Bay island community. The new cable runs for about 15,000 feet from Northport on the mainland to the western shore of the island. It replaces the original 1955 cable to the island, and will serve as a redundant feed to another cable installed in 1992.

We are happy to have this new cable in place, as it adds reliability and flexibility to the electric service on the island, says Sarah Mazurek, manager of Regional Operations at CMP's Rockland and Belfast Service Centers. This is all part of our mission to provide homes and businesses on Islesboro with the best possible service.

The $2.5 million cable replacement project included additional work at both ends of the new line. CMP installed new poles and switches and performed other upgrades on both the mainland and the island. These improvements will allow crews to isolate faults should they occur and operate the system more reliably.

The cable installation includes a fiber optic line that will support a community effort to improve internet service on the island. The Town of Islesboro has been seeking proposals to build a broadband network to serve island residents and businesses.
The project required coordination with several stakeholders, according to Mazurek.

We worked with a broad range of stakeholders including the Army Corp of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service, Maine Native American Tribes, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Islesboro Town officials, and property owners -- to complete this project, she said. "We were able to do the work within a very tight schedule while minimizing any impact on marine life in the bay."

 

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A crane from Reed and Reed is used to lay a new submarine cable to Islesboro. The cable ensures more reliable service to the island community in the future. It also includes a fiber-optic line that will support the community's efforts to install a broadband network to serve island homes and businesses.

 

 

About Central Maine Power Company (CMP): Central Maine Power Company, a subsidiary of AVANGRID (NYSE:AGR), is Maine's largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. The company delivers about 9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually to more than 600,000 homes and businesses, representing about 80% of Maine's annual consumer sales of electricity. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked the company #1 in customer satisfaction seven times

About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a diversified energy and utility company with $30 billion in assets and operations in 25 states. The company operates regulated utilities, and renewable electricity generation, through two primary lines of business. Avangrid Networks includes eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving 3.1 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables operates 6.3 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind power, in states across the U.S. AVANGRID employs 7,000 people. The company was formed by a merger between Iberdrola USA and UIL Holdings in 2015. IBERDROLA S.A. (Madrid: IBE), a worldwide leader in the energy industry, owns 81.5% of AVANGRID.

 

Media Contact:

Gail Rice
Central Maine Power
gail.rice@cmpco.com
207.622.NEWS (207.622.6397)