| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3132, as amended by PL 1997, c. 710, §6, is | further amended to read: |
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| §3132. Construction of generating facilities prohibited without |
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| prior order of the commission |
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| | An electric utility may not construct any generating facility | or transmission line covered by subsection 1, 1-A or 2 or rebuild | or relocate any transmission line as investigated by the | commission under subsection 3 unless the commission has issued a | certificate of public convenience and necessity approving | construction. |
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| | 1. Construction of generating facility. Whenever any | electric utility or utilities proposes propose to erect within | this State a permanently installed generating facility of more | than 1,000 kilowatts or any transmission line capable of | operating at 100 kilovolts or more, the construction of which is | required to carry the capacity or energy produced by the | generating facility, the following provisions apply. |
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| A. The utility or utilities shall file with the commission, | no less than 3 months in advance of submitting its petition | for approval of the proposed facility or lines, a notice of | its intent to file the petition. |
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| The notice of intent to file shall must inform the | commission of the location, size, type of facility, | estimated cost and proposed construction schedule of the | generating facility or lines, together with such other facts | and details concerning the proposed facility or lines as the | commission by rule prescribes. |
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| B. The petition for approval of the proposed generating | facility or lines shall must contain such information as the | commission by rule prescribes. |
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| C. The petition for approval shall must be set down for | public hearing. |
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| D. The commission shall issue its order within 15 months after | the petition is filed with the commission unless the period is | either extended by agreement of all the parties or by the | commission upon its determination that the party seeking the | extension would, because of circumstances beyond that party's | control for which it has no reasonable substitute, be | unreasonably disadvantaged unless the |
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