Residents Urge UI To Withdraw Transmission Line Proposal In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield residents are urging United Illuminating to withdraw a proposal to rebuild power transmission lines in town to give officials and stakeholders more time to work with the utility company on a solution.

During a Town Hall meeting Wednesday at Fairfield Warde High School, representatives from UI faced a large, skeptical crowd that collectively told them that the current proposal would have a vastly negative impact on the community.

The plan calls for the installation of more than 60 metal utility monopoles along the railroad corridor, many of which would tower above the skyline more than 100 feet in the air.

The project is needed, said UI's Shawn Crosbie, to harden the system in case of a catastrophic event, and make it more resilient to climate change.

Residents said they were not against the upgrade in theory, but had lots of concerns over the project. Chief among the concerns is that UI would need permanent easements on many private properties to allow for maintenance, which they fear could lead to eminent domain.

While Bruce McDermott, an attorney who represents UI, said that the company has never used eminent domain to take properties during such transmission line upgrade projects, he acknowledged that UI has used such property seizures in other projects.

Residents also angrily told the UI representatives that despite the company's claim of transparency, many of the property owners whose parcels might be directly impacted, either were not notified of the proposal, or only heard about it a couple of weeks ago.

"We all want to get on the same page of what this project will do and won't do," said Jim Cole, vice president of projects for UI.

MeeNa Sazanowicz, a principal engineer at UI, said the company considered several different project scenarios, including burying the lines underground, which was the preferred method of the audience.

However, burying the line would cost an estimated $745 million, compared to about $255 million under the current monopole proposal.

"If they can bury the lines underground in Norwalk and Westport, why can't they do that in Fairfield?" asked Representative Town Meeting member Ken Astarita.

"This is paid for by ratepayers," Cole said, emphasizing that as a result, UI is trying to be responsible by seeking a scenario that is the most cost-effective.

Yet residents said that as presented, they believe the proposal would have serious financial impacts on the community, and could possibly cause environmental harm.

The UI representatives could not commit to withdrawing the proposal and resubmitting a new one to the state Siting Council for approval, but they said the company would discuss the possibility.

"This plan is so flawed, I think we need to push the reset button," said First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick.