Assessment finds undergrounding work in Conn. would cost $500 million more than overhead solution

United Illuminating (UI), a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc., has completed a third-party estimate on the costs of designing and implementing an underground plan in rebuilding the transmission system infrastructure from Bridgeport to Fairfield, known as the Fairfield to Congress project. 

“Undergrounding the transmission line from Congress Street Substation to Sasco Creek would cost approximately $838 million, as opposed to the $306 million estimate for an overhead solution,” UI stated in a press release. “The approximately half-a-billion-dollar differential would be borne entirely by Connecticut ratepayers.” 

“At UI, our responsibility – to our 345,000 customers and all our stakeholders across Connecticut – is to design and implement the least-cost solution that best achieves our primary obligation: providing safe, reliable, and resilient electricity to our customers,” said Frank Reynolds, President and CEO of UI.

“In both transmission and distribution projects, there are certainly times when we recommend an underground solution, but given the cost increases our customers bear for underground projects, we must offer substantial proof to regulators that an overhead solution is either not viable or would be more costly.”

“It is frankly surprising to see so many elected officials and their constituents continue to push for a project design that would add half a billion dollars to Connecticut electric rates,” added Jim Cole, Vice President of Projects at Avangrid. “At UI, we recognize the immense responsibility we have to provide best-in-class reliability and resiliency at the least possible cost to our customers, and we are eager to work with regulators, elected officials, and all our stakeholders to move this project forward.” 

 

 

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