TWO BAY STATE REFERENDUM questions will appear on the ballot this fall in Massachusetts, along with a third in Maine.

The referendum in Maine can be considered a Massachusetts question because it seeks to block a nearly $1 billion power line that is being paid for by Bay State utility customers. The fight over the power line, which would carry hydroelectricity produced in Quebec to Lewiston, Maine, has become one of the top political fights in Maine.

Two officials from the opposing camps – Serge Abergel, director of external relations for Hydro-Quebec, and Adam Cote, an attorney representing opponents of the project – laid out their positions on The Codcast.

Cote said the ballot question is already the most expensive in state history, and it’s only August. He insists polling shows his side doing well despite being heavily outspent.

Abergel says the hydroelectricity his company produces will back electricity produced using natural gas out of the market, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New England, and provide backup power for other more variable renewables, such as wind and solar.