Siting Council to review Monopole rejection
Following a 90-day review period, the council will be able to vote on whether to affirm that decision.
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The State Siting Council appears to be taking a second look at its recent denial of the Fairfield to Bridgeport monopole plan.
The council voted in a special session Thursday to review their October rejection.
Following a 90-day review period, the council will be able to vote on whether to affirm that decision.
RELATED: Fairfield residents head to Hartford to rally against United Illuminating’s monopole plan
United Illuminating had challenged the rejection saying that the council did not follow state law in giving a clear reason for that rejection.
Officials in Fairfield and Bridgeport strongly opposed the project, which consisted of more than 7-mile run of power lines that would reach up to 145 feet tall.
They instead suggested for the lines to be buried underground.
UI says that would add a half billion dollars to the cost of the project.
In a statement, the company said, "the Siting Council’s failure to offer any explanation for their denial of UI’s project on October 16 is not aligned with Connecticut law. But worse, it left us with no path forward for rebuilding our 60-year-old transmission infrastructure atop 110-year-old railroad catenaries in Fairfield and Bridgeport, which the Siting Council has already agreed needs to be replaced for the benefit of customers across Connecticut and throughout the region. The stakes are high: to continue with delay after delay, as some state politicians have recklessly called for, risks a catastrophic transmission line failure that could result in a prolonged electric outage across the state and region, as well as tumultuous rail disruption. We encourage the Siting Council to move quickly to resolve the lack of clarity in their October decision so that we can work to finish the essential 25-mile transmission replacement program as cost-effectively as possible on behalf of the customers we serve.”
