NEW BRITAIN – United Illuminating’s attempt to install several power transmission line monopoles in Southport and Bridgeport along the Metro-North rail line has failed for good as the Connecticut Siting Council has voted to deny a vital certificate for the power company.
In a virtual meeting of the council’s Energy/Telecommunications Committee, council members voted 6-1 today with one member absent not to approve UI’s application for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need for the Fairfield to Congress Railroad Transmission Line 115-kV Rebuild Project. The council had issued a reconsideration findings of fact, reconsideration opinion, reconsideration decision and order and reconsideration conclusions of law order Jan. 30, which is what the committee members voted on today.
UI, which is a subsidiary of Avangrid, had prepared a statement soon after the vote.
“As long as the Siting Council continues to deny the Fairfield to Congress Project, a critical portion of the transmission system between Bridgeport and Fairfield will be vulnerable to both safety and reliability risks,” said Sarah Wall Fliotsos, UI spokesperson. “Three years ago, UI proposed a project route that would protect the environment, minimize impacts to local businesses and communities, and ensure Connecticut ratepayers do not foot an unnecessary half-a-billion-dollar bill to fund an underground alternative that some select residents and politicians in Fairfield County are insistent on.”
The Siting Council never disputed those facts, Fliotsos added. “But after years of delays and recent interference from state politicians, UI is no closer to making these critical upgrades than we were three years ago,” she said. “This serves no one: not Bridgeport and Fairfield, which are at greatest risk for outage risk and safety hazards; not MetroNorth or I-95, whose commuters travel under and nearby 60-plus-year-old electric infrastructure every day; and certainly not the state of Connecticut, whose important goals and objectives all fundamentally rely on a safe, reliable electric grid.”
The Town of Fairfield, whose late First Selectman Bill Gerber championed the fight against the monopoles along with Southport neighbors, was appreciative of the Siting Council’s decision.
The Siting Council’s vote reaffirmed its earlier decision denying UI’s application and concludes the latest chapter in a lengthy review process concerning the utility company’s proposed monopole project along the southern route of the Metro-North railroad tracks.
“We appreciate the Connecticut Siting Council’s thorough review and its decision to deny UI’s application in Docket 516R,” said newly elected First Selectperson Christine Vitale. “Throughout this process, our community has consistently expressed strong concerns, and we are grateful that the voices of residents, local leaders, religious institutions, businesses and preservationists were heard.”
The town’s focus now turns to working together on alternative solutions that meet the region’s needs for reliable energy transmission without sacrificing the economic well-being and cultural treasures of our municipalities, the administration stated in a press release.
“The Town of Fairfield remains steadfast in its commitment to fight for the protection of all of its residents, businesses and places of worship; and is determined to continue advocating for UI to meaningfully examine underground alternatives, including by providing the true costs of burying the transmission lines, rather than building overhead lines that will destroy the precious resources of the town,” Vitale said.
