Jennifer Leeper

While I sent communication on April 17^th and July 21^st about the CT Siting Council’s Docket #516 - United Illuminating Company’s application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for the Fairfield to Congress Railroad Transmission Line 115-kV Rebuild Project, I am reaching out again about this proposed project. I do not want to be alarmist but I am asking that you read the following closely, and seriously consider submitting written testimony to the CT Siting Council in opposition to the currently proposed Docket #516. Testimony can be emailed to: siting.council@ct.gov 

Docket #516 proposes replacing the existing 115-kV powerlines situated atop the catenary structures along the MetroNorth Railroad tracks, which are typically 60 to 80 feet above ground. UI is proposing replacing these existing structures with monopoles that range in height from 95 to 145 feet above ground. This represents an enormous change to the landscape of our community and neighborhoods.   

These structures will run through Historic Southport Village, through downtown Fairfield along the Post Rd, and over to Fairfield Metro.   

Not only this but in many places along this route the new monopoles fall outside the existing utility easement and directly on private homeowners’ properties. When this happens, UI then requires a new permanent utility easement for these monopoles resulting in a loss of a depth of up to 18 feet of personal property. In total, 19.25 acres of primarily private property between Fairfield and Bridgeport will be lost to this new permanent easement.   

There is an additional 10 acres of temporary easement during construction. This project will remove 6.5 acres of trees, 5.5 acres of which will be permanent loss.   

One of the goals of this project, as presented by UI, is to provide additional resiliency to our electric grid in the face of climate change. However, twenty-six of these new proposed monopoles fall in the 100-year floodplain.   

This summer we have witnessed the intensity of climate change outpacing what even the climate scientists have projected. I am asking the Siting Council to have UI reassess their analysis of burying these lines and I hope that you will too. I request that the Siting Council give additional consideration to both the large influx of federal infrastructure dollars the state has received and also the long-term cost of increased incidence of category 3 and perhaps even category 4 hurricanes. Delaying the initiation of undergrounding our power grid will only make the work more expensive. Given this transmission line is critical to the reliability of the rest of the grid, it seems like the perfect place to start what will be a long-term initiative to underground the entire grid.  

Here is a link to the docket record: https://portal.ct.gov/CSC/1_Applications-and-Other-Pending-Matters/Applications/4_DocketNos500s/Docket-No-516  

Highlights: 

Volume 1- Description of the Proposed Project  

Volume 2 –Project Mappings and Drawings  

CT Siting Council has a continued evidentiary hearing session scheduled for August 29 at 2 PM via Zoom. The public comment session was held on July 25, but members of the public may submit written comments at any time up to 30 days after the close of the evidentiary record, which in this case, would likely be by the end of September unless we need to hold another continued evidentiary hearing session.  

Written comments may be sent by mail or by email to the CSC office: siting.council@ct.gov.  

I appreciate your attention and engagement on this matter. Please let me know if I can provide you with any additional information.