What do these news headlines:

• “CMP: Be prepared to be without power for more than a day”

• “Maine snowstorm leaves more than 265,000 without power”

• “Thousands of CMP customers still without power from last week’s storm”

• “Central Mainers still dealing with no power”

Have in common with these headlines:

• “CMP, Hydro-Quebec spent $7 million last quarter in attempt to squash anti-corridor referendum”

• “CMP-aligned groups spend record $9.5M aiming to fight anti-corridor referendum”

• “Judge rejects lawsuit aimed at derailing vote on CMP power line project”

They aired during the same week. That should sound an alarm for Maine ratepayers, the Public Utilities Commission and Massachusetts ratepayers.

Over the last two years, CMP has focused so much of their energy and resources on building a for-profit corridor to run power through Maine’s north woods to Massachusetts that they have neglected their customers here in Maine, and they have neglected important infrastructure maintenance.

CMP’s monopoly status means we are stuck with them. But Massachusetts isn’t. And if they are paying any attention at all, they will run their power through Vermont, where a project to deliver this same power underground is already fully permitted and ready to go.

The best part of that project is that it won’t benefit CMP, and so perhaps their foreign stakeholders will shift their focus back to where it belongs.

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Hats off to excellent Hannaford workers