[en] The proposed action is the issuance of Presidential Permit PP-89 by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to Bangor Hydro-Electric Company (BHE) to operate its second international electrical power transmission interconnection with New Brunswick, Canada, at normal operating power levels of 500 megawatts (MW) and to construct new transmission facilities to distribute this power. The proposed transmission line is needed to (1) complement and share electrical load with the existing 345-kilovolt (kV) interconnection (which would result in conservation of up to 24 MW annually), (2) enhance the sharing of generation between New England and New Brunswick (thereby reducing reserve generation requirements by sharing capacity during emergencies), and (3) increase the reliability of the overall transmission system. The availability of the additional electricity would have a beneficial effect on the economy and should enhance continued residential, industrial, and economic growth and improvement in the service area, the state of Maine, and New England. The proposed new facilities, referred to as the second 345-kV tie line to New Brunswick, consist of two principal elements. The first, and major, element is the proposed construction of an 83.8-mile-long, alternating current (AC) transmission line that would cross the US-Canadian border at Baileyville, Maine, and continue southwest to Orrington, Maine. The second element involves the proposed expansion of the existing substation at Orrington to accommodate the new 345-kV AC transmission line. Two other substations would also be upgraded to accommodate the new power loads throughout the system. ca. 300 refs., 30 figs., 39 tabs