Penobscot dam owner replaces faulty poles on line where July failure killed fish

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2026

The owner of the Penobscot River dam that shut down in July after a transmission crossarm broke and likely killed thousands of fish said it is replacing faulty poles along the 30-mile power line. Brookfield Renewable N.A. said the new poles are part of an annual maintenance program it has run for 10 years. In that time, failures on the line have twice caused automatic shutdowns of the Ripogenus Dam that left thousands of fish dead from a lack of water, according to the Maine Council of Trout Unlimited.