Flashy advertisements, polished mailings and letters to the editor produced by and for Central Maine Power all contain lies and intentionally deceptive language about the New England Clean Energy Connect corridor.

CMP claims that their project will provide clean energy from Hydro Quebec – it won’t, and decades of peer-reviewed scientific research prove this. I laugh when CMP states 3 million metric tons of dirty air will be saved but forget to mention that clearcutting 3,500 acres of land in perpetuity will easily counterbalance any gain.

The right of way two-thirds done? Not really, but CMP plays a shell game with the right-of-way widths to meet the two-thirds figure. Recently, Clean Energy Connect (an intentional misnomer) touted a wonderful “trifecta” that included a $300 million contract with Cianbro and jobs for all. Well, it neglected to mention that it is a joint venture with four companies that come from Mississippi, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and the out-of-state office of Cianbro, respectively. Yep, a lot of jobs in Maine but probably few actually for Maine workers.

Let’s not forget, CMP has cheated ratepayers, left our electric infrastructure to rot on the vine, and is owned by a Spanish energy conglomerate.

As their frantic assault on the referendum signatures gathered by opponents continues to march toward November, the frequency and magnitude of lies and deceit will increase as will the millions of advertising dollars spent to intentionally obscure the truth.

CMP’s slick suits, lobbyists and compliant political figures will keep hiding the truth. Wouldn’t a sound thrashing in November be a valuable lesson for the CMP monopoly?

Richard Aishton

Steuben