By William Opalka

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Speakers at the Northeast Energy and Commerce Association’s dinner meeting last week discussed pending legislation in Maine, the future of the proposed Northern Pass Transmission project and net metering.

Daniel Allegretti, a vice president of state government affairs for Exelon, spoke about the prospects for Northern Pass. Developers have proposed burying nearly one-third of the line to import Canadian hydropower, but critics, including New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, had been seeking to put even more of the 190-mile line underground. (See Northern Pass Opponents Want More of Line Buried.)

The state’s Site Evaluation Committee has a 10-step process for approving such projects. “The governor has been clear that she is waiting for the site evaluation process to play out,” Allegretti said.

Christopher Sherman, president of New Hampshire transmission for NextEra Energy, said one of the investor-owned utilities in Massachusetts earlier this year reached the 4% limit on the integration of net-metered generation onto the grid.

“The governor’s own bill [which would raise the cap to 6%, with future increases left to state regulators] will be considered at a hearing by the end of this month, with the possibility the legislature will pass a bill later in the fall,” Sherman said.

Sandi Hennequin, vice president of U.S. public affairs for Nova Scotia-based Emera Energy, mentioned a bill backed by Maine Gov. Paul LePage that would allow local distribution utilities, which were divested after restructuring in 2000, to own some generation assets.

The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to determine “that ownership is beneficial to the utility’s ratepayers” and to “impose terms, conditions or requirements the commission determines are necessary to protect the interests of the utility’s ratepayers.” The bill was introduced last session and has been held over for consideration during the coming session.

Patrick C. Woodcock, director of the governor’s energy office, said LePage saw the need for the legislation because of ambiguity about whether affiliates of local utilities can own generation. Woodcock said neither the state’s restructuring law nor a recent court ruling provided clarity. The case involved a proposed $333 million joint venture by Emera and First Wind to finance wind farms in the state.

“The governor asked, ‘Does it really make sense to have this iron-clad prohibition?’” Woodcock said in an interview after the dinner. He said limited utility ownership of generation could help the state modernize older hydro facilities.

“I think there’s an opportunity there for some of the utilities to benefit from generating from solar,” said Maine Rep. Larry C. Dunphy, who introduced the bill on the governor’s behalf. “There’s a number of motivations.”