Municipal leaders from Bridgeport and Fairfield asked Connecticut regulators Thursday morning to delay or reject United Illuminating’s proposed overhead transmission line project, escalating a months-long dispute over the $300 million infrastructure plan.
The Connecticut Siting Council is scheduled to vote Thursday afternoon on United Illuminating’s application, which proposes installing monopoles up to 195 feet tall along the Metro-North Railroad corridor through the two communities.
The municipalities, backed by state legislators, argue the project would harm property values, hinder economic development and damage historic and religious sites.
“UI has refused to participate in any constructive conversation, despite the clear and loud dissent from our residents,” Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim said. “The proposed project as is will cause irreparable harm to our neighborhoods, especially our religious and historic institutions, while preventing economic development.”
The project, known as the Fairfield to Congress Railroad Transmission Line, would move existing transmission lines from aging catenary structures above the Metro-North corridor onto a series of large monopoles built mostly along the south side of the railroad tracks.
United Illuminating opposed the requested extension.
The company said “… it is UI’s position that in the more than two years since the application was filed with the Council that the Town and City have failed to present a design alternative that achieves one of the main purposes of the Public Utility Environmental Standards Act: to balance the need for adequate and reliable public utility company services, including electric transmission, at the lowest reasonable cost, with the protection of environmental resources and to minimize damage to scenic, historic and recreational values. Conn. Gen. Stat. §16-50g.”
Alternative proposals, such as moving the line underground, “would add hundreds of millions to Connecticut customers’ electric bills,” UI said.
The controversy centered on the Siting Council’s apparent reversal of its earlier position.
According to Fairfield First Selectman Christine Vitale, the council rejected the proposed overhead route on three previous occasions before indicating support for the plan in a September straw vote.
“The reversal from its prior positions, when nothing has changed and there have been no new hearings, has raised serious questions about transparency,” Vitale said.
The project has faced significant opposition from residents and religious institutions. A portion of the easement sought by United Illuminating passes directly over the sanctuary, basketball court and playground of Shiloh Baptist Church, an 85-year-old congregation in Bridgeport’s South End.
Opponents have repeatedly pushed for the transmission line to be buried underground, but United Illuminating has argued that would add up to $500 million to the project’s existing $300 million price tag. Critics contend those estimates are inflated.
Gov. Ned Lamont requested a delay last month to allow time for negotiations between the utility and municipalities. Although the council postponed its vote by one month, local officials say United Illuminating has not engaged in substantive talks.
The project has been under review since the Siting Council initially approved an alternative north-side design last year. That decision was overturned in April by Judge Matthew J. Budzik in New Britain Superior Court, who ruled the council had exceeded its authority by deviating from the utility’s original proposal. Municipal officials have also cited procedural flaws in the approval process, including insufficient notice to property owners.
Lamont previously indicated that additional costs for route adjustments could potentially be spread among roughly 14 million electric customers across New England if determined to be for safety or practical purposes. However, ISO New England, the operator of the six-state electric grid, has said projects moved underground due to state siting decisions are not eligible for regional cost sharing.
Both municipalities said they remain willing to work with United Illuminating on alternative designs that would meet transmission reliability needs while minimizing community impact.