Alna Third Selectman Doug Baston and Central Maine Power spokesman John Carroll will present a proposal to Wiscasset selectmen March 12 on CMP’s plan to build the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), a corridor that ferries energy from Hydro Quebec to Massachusetts through Maine. Area towns including Wiscasset and Alna are along the corridor. Carroll will outline the types of compensation the towns will receive if the project goes through.

According to interim Wiscassset town manager John O’Connell, Baston took the lead on the proposal for all the area towns. Wiscasset has the opportunity to opt in to the proposal, and receive the compensation package.

In email responses to the Wiscasset Newspaper's questions about Alna's efforts, Baston on Sunday credited former Wilton legislator Tom Saviello. "I stayed in regular touch with him and sought his strategy advice ... Honestly, I deserve very little credit for this. The really heavy lifting was done by Senator Saviello, and the whole state owes him a debt of gratitude," Baston wrote.

Baston said Alna filed for and got intervenor status at the Public Utilities Commission  to be part of negotiations with other parties, including some Franklin County ones Saviello “loosely led,” Baston continued.

After a recent executive session of Alna selectmen to review the proposed settlement, Boston emailed a counter proposal to CMP’s lead negotiating attorney and the other parties. It read in part: “The proposed agreement provides for ‘…innovative training programs in ... math, science and technology for the School Districts within Franklin and Somerset Counties…' We propose that the agreement be amended to provide $160,000 ($120,000 to RSU 12 and $40,000 to the Wiscasset School District) ... If (this) is accepted in concept, we as a Board will join with CMP to advocate with our fellow selectmen in the three subject towns to sign onto this agreement.

CMP did not agree to this, Baston told the Wiscasset Newspaper.

Baston said that, in an earlier exchange, he asked if Alna would be entitled to "full proportional access" to the NECEC Low-Income Customer Benefits Fund and the NECEC Broadband Benefits.

Baston wrote: "CMP conceded that this interpretation is accurate. This is important in that it means that Alna, and Wiscasset, Whitefield and Windsor will have priority access (along with other “host communities”) to a $10,00,000 “Broadband Fund” to support highspeed broadband infrastructure in our towns, as well as a $50,000,000 “Low-Income Benefit Fund” for weatherization and other energy efficiency programs. As a party, I will push that we have say in how these programs are fleshed out.

Wiscasset selectmen will meet March 12 because O’Connell will be out of town during the first week of the month.

The NECEC took an important step closer to approval Feb. 21, when Gov. Janet Mills issued a stipulation to the PUC to issue a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, allowing the New England Clean Energy Connect project to undergo further review before other state and federal agencies. Mills said recent changes to the proposal will assist low and middle income Mainers to obtain support to purchase heat pumps to replace oil furnaces or boilers. This would take Maine closer to zero net carbon for home heating by 2050, Mills said. She also said the NECEC would suppress the cost of electricity in Maine and in the region, saving Mainers millions of dollars every year. CMP has also offered more electric car charging stations throughout the state as part of the negotiations.