In regard to Ethan Horton’s Jan. 27 article, “CMP delays Augusta Old Winthrop Road proposal for review,” I want to share the fact that Central Maine Power has continued to mislead both residents and the media about the project. 

One of the interesting — and also confusing — things was that while Horton’s first article on this topic was published on Jan. 9 and quoted CMP as continuing the project with “respect for our neighbors,” a FOIA request shows that CMP pulled its application to the Augusta Planning Board that same day. (CMP similarly omitted this fact on Jan. 12 in an interview with a local TV station.)

According to Horton’s Jan. 27 article, CMP had emailed residents the prior day to say the plans were undergoing further review. But CMP didn’t notify neighbors about its Jan. 9 decision until Jan. 26, saying, “We are also continuing to review the plan for the proposed transmission building including its location on the existing property and the size of the building. Due to this review, we have removed ourselves from the February agenda of the Planning Board meeting.”

As a resident of Augusta and a CMP customer, I do not understand why a public utility would be so dismissive of its customers and neighbors. I do not understand why CMP misleads the media in its public statements, saying one thing to the city of Augusta, another to the media and another to neighbors in the residential community in which CMP wishes to build.

Thomas Keefe
Augusta