Maine's CMP ready to start power grid upgrade work (2000 jobs)

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9H7JR5G0.htm

Central Maine Power said Tuesday it will start work on its $1.4 billion power grid upgrade in a matter of weeks now that it has gotten the final federal approval.

CMP, the state's largest electric utility, said it has received the final permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for one of the largest construction projects in the state's history. It includes five new power substations and 450 miles of new or rebuilt transmission lines.

A new 345,000-volt transmission line from Orrington to Eliot will double the capacity of the state's power grid.

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Sara Burns, CMP president, said the state's economy will get a boost, with construction work sustaining 2,000 jobs over the five-year project.

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...by environmentalists.