Siting
Board Filing Seeks to Increase Regional Transmission
Capacity
January 19, 2004
Taking
a much-need step toward securing reliable electric
service for New England homes and businesses, NSTAR
today announced that it has filed plans with the
Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board to construct
a new major underground transmission line that would
significantly increase the available electricity to
Northeastern Massachusetts and Greater Boston.
The filing details several aspects of NSTAR’s
plan to construct the new 18-mile, 345,000-volt (345kV)
transmission line, designed to deliver power from the
capacity-rich areas of Southeastern Massachusetts and
Rhode Island to the highest-demand region Northern
Massachusetts and Greater Boston.
“The
events of last summer underscore the need for
improvements to electric transmission systems throughout
the country,” said Werner J. Schweiger, Senior Vice
President of Operations for NSTAR.
“NSTAR’s proposal to build a new underground
line into Boston will allow us to bring electricity from
the areas where it’s most available to the area where
its most needed.”
The Siting
Board submission is the second in a series of recent
filings that discuss details of the new line.
Last month, NSTAR took the first step by filing
an Environmental Notification Form with the
Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.
Plans for
the new transmission line are consistent with
recommendations made in a recent study by ISO New
England, which called for new transmission lines to
support an increase in electricity use and to offset the
potential retirement of local power generating plants.
Consumer demand for electricity has increased by 20
percent over the past several years, and is expected to
continue to grow. ISO has predicted by 2006, demand
could exceed available supply unless new transmission
lines are constructed. By continuing its policy of open
dialogue with public officials, community leaders and
interested citizens, NSTAR is committed to completing
this new transmission line before the region’s demand
outpaces supply.
Though,
currently, several lower voltage transmission lines and
a single 345,000-volt (345kV) transmission corridor
serve the area from the north, a new 345 kV line from
the south will add a significant transmission source to
the region.
In addition to serving as a critical reliability
improvement, the project will also reduce dependence on
local generation.
For more
details about NSTAR’s proposed transmission line
project, visit www.nstar.com and click on the Construction
Projects link.
