Legal News — New England Clean Energy Connect

Legal News

The Maine Ethics Commission unanimously voted to deny Stop the Corridor’s request to vacate a subpoena issued by the Commission. The subpoena would allow the commission to investigate Stop the Corridor’s funders and its expenditures. 

In the subpoena, the Commission makes seven specific requests of Stop the Corridor to share documents, contracts, and budgets relevant to the investigation (those requests are outlined beginning HERE on page 17; a redacted copy of the actual subpoena begins on page 21). Stop the Corridor made cash contributions of untold amounts to the Natural Resources Council of Maine and spent millions opposing the NECEC. Natural Resources Council of Maine has never commented on-the-record about its financial relationship with Stop the Corridor. 

In other legal news, Avangrid has filed a complaint against NextEra Energy for refusing to make necessary equipment upgrades at its Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. The complaint filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission against NextEra claims the company is stonewalling necessary upgrades to the electrical equipment. The complaint also highlights NextEra’s willingness to scale-back opposition to the NECEC if Avangrid, the parent company of NECEC, agreed to purchase power on behalf of its customers from the Seabrook plant at an above-market rate.

“At every turn, NextEra Energy has fought against the Clean Energy Corridor because it will cost them millions of dollars as New England becomes less dependent on fossil fuels and nuclear generated power,” said Jon Breed, Executive Director for Clean Energy Matters. “Their arguments against the project didn’t hold water in regulatory or legal proceedings, so they’ve resorted to holding NECEC hostage unless their financial demands are met. Not only is this obstruction some would call it extortion. This action by NextEra is not good for ratepayers, the environment, or the local economies that will benefit from the construction of the Clean Energy Corridor.”

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state's Department of Public Utilities (DPU), upholding power purchase agreements (PPAs) regulators had awarded last year to Hydro-Québec. The long-term energy contracts are important to advancing the development of the NECEC.  NextEra Energy Resources, an out-of-state fossil fuel producer which stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars if the corridor is built, alleged in the lawsuit that the hydroelectric generation was not eligible for the contracts, as it could not be provided without interruption as a "firm service." The court ruled those arguments were not valid.

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