Norwalk, Conn

Norwalk, Conn., Awaits Word on Possible Summer Power Shortages

By Stephania H. Davis, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport -- May 11

It will be another month before the state receives a plan revealing if electric lines to Fairfield County can withstand the demands of a hot summer without the boost in capacity energy providers say is crucial to avoid rolling blackouts in the coming months.

With Friday's meeting at Norwalk City Hall, the state Department of Public Utility Control completed the hearing phase of its investigation into possible summer power outages in southwestern Connecticut.

Next the DPUC begins work on a report to the state legislature on the electricity outlook for this summer and future summers. It is scheduled to issue a draft plan June 12 and a final plan June 19.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal wants the plan to include conservation measures for both commercial and residential users.

"There are some very simple steps that can be taken to ward off a crisis, but they need to be taken now," said Blumenthal, one of several state and local officials at the hearing. "I think there should be incentives for businesses to reduce usage for acts as simple as turning out lights not being used or being careful with air conditioning use."

Blumenthal made it clear he was opposed to the use of large new power lines like the 345-kilovolt line Northeast Utilities wants to run overhead from Bethel to Norwalk.

On Monday the state senate unanimously approved a utility moratorium that would delay until next year NU's power line, as well as a natural gas pipeline in Branford.

The legislation requires the formation of two task forces to study the state's future need for electricity and its long-term environmental impact.

One of the study groups would also investigate the possibility of running at least part of the high-voltage cable lines underground, possibly under Route 7.

While the state has enough power generation ability, congested areas such as Norwalk, Stamford and other southwestern cities, strain the power of aging transmission lines.

The moratorium now goes to Gov. John G. Rowland for his signature. He has said he will sign it.

Given that, Blumenthal urged NU to take other action.

"I think NU should immediately withdraw that proposal in the spirit of the moratorium," he said.

When the plan was proposed in March, Blumenthal blasted it as much more than Fairfield County needed and an effort by the company to serve New York.

Friday a spokesman for Connecticut Light & Power, a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, told the DPUC the company has long worked to ensure a reliable electric delivery system.

"But if we are not allowed to build the 345kv line we will have planned rolling blackouts in Connecticut," he said. "We have been encouraged to find other solutions. But the Band-Aid box of solutions we have been drawing from is just about empty."

Paul Hannah, first selectman of Wilton, also urged NU to postpone its plan until Wilton and three other towns, Stamford, Greenwich and Norwalk, could complete the alternative plan they are working on.

"It [the plan] uses existing technology and does not have environmental issues," he said. "We've got a problem to solve and there's no point in going on a witch hunt. We all need to work together."

Friday's hearing was the second of two held this week. The first was held in New Britain on Thursday.

The DPUC held the hearings as part of its investigation into the possibility of summer outages. The investigation was opened at the request of the legislature's energy and technology committee.

Blumenthal said the hearings have served their purpose well.

"It's clear we have to be concerned about the future," he said. "And solving it has to be a collaboration among the industry, commercial users and residential users. We're all in this dilemma together."

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