Connecticut ratepayers must foot $880 million for four transmission projects in Maine, Vermont and Connecticut, an amount $75 million more than the state’s typical share because regional power grid oversea-er ISO New England determined Connecticut got a higher portion of the benefit.
Since transmission projects benefit the entire regional system, their costs are split among the six New England states based on each state’s electricity usage. Connecticut pays for 26 percent of the region’s energy projects, the second highest in New England. Massachusetts pays the highest at 46 percent.
ISO on Monday issued its final determination for cost sharing for two transmission projects in Maine and Vermont and another two in Southwest Connecticut.
While ISO determined the entire of both the Maine and Vermont project were eligible for cost sharing — totalling $1.6 billion split among the six New England states — ISO determined that not all of the two Southwest Connecticut projects were eligible for cost-sharing.
In the report issued Monday, ISO said $56 million of the $1.26-billion Middleton-Norwalk Project and $38 million of the $238-million Glenbrook Cables Project were local costs and must be borne solely by the ratepayers of Connecticut utilities.
That put Connecticut’s total bill for the transmission projects at $880 million. If ISO hadn’t said the local cost weren’t eligible for cost sharing, Connecticut’s bill would have been $805 million.
