NEW BRITAIN – Citing the lack of a second public member with an ecology background, the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) today granted United Illuminating’s request for a stay in a vote on its application to install monopoles in Fairfield and Bridgeport.
“On June 24, 2025, UI submitted a motion to stay a final vote in this remand proceeding because the Council is not properly constituted,” said Melanie Bachman, CSC Executive Director and attorney for the Siting Council. “The membership statute requires the Council to contain at least two public members with experience in the field of ecology among the five public members appointed by the government.
“As of May 30, 2025, when Chair (Elin) Katz resigned, Ms. (Khristine) Hall is the only remaining public member appointed by the governor with experience in the field of ecology.”
UI, a subsidiary of Avangrid, asked the Council to delay the vote until a public member with such experience is appointed. CSC Staff recommended UI’s request be granted.
The Council then voted 7-0 to do just that. It is not known when another vote will be taken up on the monopole application.
On June 19, in a straw vote CSC denied UI’s application to build monopoles as part of a transmission line upgrade between Fairfield and Bridgeport. The application, which was remanded back to the council after a successful legal challenge in April, was denied in a 4-2, with one abstention, in the virtual meeting on June 19.
Although the straw vote was technically non-binding, CSC Presiding Officer John Morissette instructed Siting Council staff to draft a formal opinion and decision denying UI’s application.
UI’s application for a certificate for the Fairfield to Congress railroad transmission line project consists of relocation and rebuild of its existing 115kV electric transmission lines along 7.3 miles of Metro-North Railroad corridor located east of Sasco Creek in Fairfield and UI’s Congress Street substation in Bridgeport. It also calls for rebuilding of two existing 115kv lines along 2.3 miles to facilitate the interconnection between UI’s Ash Creek, Resco, Pequannock, and Congress Street substations.
On April 23, New Britain Superior Court Judge Matthew Budzik struck down the original approval by CSC and remanded the case back to the council. As filed, UI’s application was specifically for its existing 1430 line, according to Bachman. The proposed project configuration, identified as alternative 1, uses both single circuit and double circuit monopoles located south of the railroad corridor in both Fairfield and Bridgeport and single circuit and double circuit monopoles located north of the railroad for 5.8 miles in Route 8/I-95 corridor and for 0.3 mile approximate to Congress Street substation.
The estimated cost of the proposed project is $255 million, inclusive of costs to transfer DOT facilities.
