Central Maine hires contractors to build power line

NEW YORK Dec 20 (Reuters) - Central Maine Power Co, a unit of Spanish energy company Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC), said Monday it selected three contractors to build a $1.4 billion power transmission project expected to create up to 1,000 construction jobs.

Central Maine said in a release the contractors, MYR Group Inc., Irby Construction Co, and Hawkeye LLC, would build nearly 440 miles of high voltage transmission lines. The contracts are worth $524 million.

Central Maine said the project, which will include five new 345-kilovolt substations, will make the grid more efficient and reliable and open access to more carbon-free, renewable power.

The line will run from Eliot to Orrington in Maine and should enter service by mid 2015.

Central Maine is Maine's largest power transmission and distribution utility, serving more than 600,000 homes and businesses. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Walter Bagley)