WINSLOW — Two companies are vying for an opportunity to supply natural gas to central Maine, and a representative from one will present his case to the Town Council Monday.
The meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Town Office, will feature a presentation by a representative for Maine Natural Gas, and the council expects to take no action, Town Manager Michael Heavener said.
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The presentation will include the companies’ plans to supply natural gas to businesses and residences to about 10 communities ranging from Gardiner to Madison, and will include a map of the proposed pipeline’s course through Winslow, Fairfield and Waterville. The company already has given similar presentations to six communities and plans to reach out to three others.
Maine Natural Gas is competing with Summit Natural Gas for many of the same areas, and the competition has been fierce at times, including a pending lawsuit.
In November, Maine Natural Gas announced it had signed a 10-year agreement to provide natural gas to the new MaineGeneral Medical Center regional hospital under construction in north Augusta. Two weeks later, Summit Natural Gas of Maine issued a similar announcement, saying they have a 10-year commitment with Harper’s Development, which owns buildings in Augusta, Gardiner, Hallowell, Oakland and Winthrop, according to previous reports.
Summit’s proposed natural gas pipeline would run from an existing connection in Windsor to Augusta and throughout the Kennebec Valley as far north as Madison. The company plans to start laying pipe in the ground in April if it gains approval from the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
Maine Natural Gas already has the commission’s approval to operate in Maine and has started laying a supply line to the new hospital site. The company hopes to install infrastructure to serve Augusta and much of the rest of the Kennebec Valley.
If both companies are successful, they will have virtually parallel pipelines along the same roads in many locations.
Earlier this year, Maine Natural Gas won a bid to bring a gas pipeline to state facilities in Augusta; however, that award was thrown out by an appeals panel because the state’s decision-making process was found to be flawed.
Maine Natural Gas has since filed a lawsuit, which the courts have not heard yet. State officials have not said whether they will issue a new request for proposals to provide state facilities with natural gas.
Ben McCanna — 861-9239
bmccanna@centralmaine.com
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