Maine voters have rejected Hydro-Quebec’s plans to pass a power transmission line through their state. The result of the referendum, held Tuesday in Maine, is a stinging setback for Hydro-Quebec and the Quebec government’s plan to make the province the “battery of North America.”
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is nonetheless confident that the $10-billion power export contract with Massachusetts will come true.
“There is never anything certain in life, but I am confident that it will be done,” Legault said Wednesday in reaction to the vote, at a press conference at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Climate Change in Edinburgh Scotland.
“We knew that the referendum was going to be tight. We had a plan B,” he said, adding that the governor of Massachusetts is determined that the agreement be implemented.
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“There are different scenarios. So far, I can’t give more details. There are different routes you can take to get to Massachusetts.”
Legault said that the project has the support of the U.S. federal government, and that “all permits” have been obtained.
In Tuesday’s referendum, 60 per cent of Maine voters said no to the Hydro-Quebec power line project, according to American media reports.
The contract is expected to bring in $10 billion over 20 years.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
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