Canadian energy plans get boost from Bay State

MONTPELIER, Vt. — A request from Massachusetts for clean, renewable electricity could boost proposals to carry Canadian renewable energy to southern New England via proposed transmission lines in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

There are a handful of proposals across the three states designed to help energy-hungry Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut make use of the renewable energy available in Canada, and experts say the Massachusetts request gives a huge boost to those efforts.

“This one feels real,” said Kerrick Johnson, vice president of the Vermont Electric Power Co., which manages electrical distribution in the state.