Siting Council Rules on Proposed Greenwich Eversource Substation

GREENWICH, CT- The Connecticut Siting Council has voted to reject an Eversource application to build a substation on Railroad Avenue.

“The Siting Council’s decision clearly reaffirms the Town’s position that the need and cost of the proposed project could not be justified," said First Selectman Peter Tesei. "While there may be issues with service provided by Eversource, it certainly is not necessary to disrupt neighborhoods and Town parks to improve service to the Town’s residents.”

The station would've been located at 290 Railroad Ave. and two 115-kilovolt underground transmission lines would connect to the Cos Cob substation about 2.3 miles away.

Siting Council members voted 4-2 with two abstentions to deny the project.

Eversource said that it was disappointed in the council's decision.

"The decision provides us an opportunity to come up with a modified solution to address the capacity and reliability challenges in Greenwich," said Frank Poirot, a spokesman with the company. "We'll look for additional savings as we redesign our proposal."

The need for a new substation is critical, Poirot said. Demand is expected to exceed capacity of the existing Cos Cob substation in the near future.

"We are working to stay ahead of that demand by proposing the new substation which will have enough capacity to ensure the continued reliable flow of power to customers where it's most needed for years to come," he said.

Tesei thanked Greenwich Panning and Zoning Director Katie DeLuca and staff for making the point that the project would have caused harm to Bruce Park and the nearby coastline.

The project would have cost $140 to $155 million, which the Siting Council noted was, "...exceedingly high for a relatively short transmission line project."

“I am very satisfied with the decision and extremely grateful to the Connecticut Siting Council for their attention to detail and willingness to afford us the opportunity to work in earnest with Eversource to develop an environmentally sensitive, economical and responsible solution," DeLuca said.

Selectmen Drew Marzullo and John Toner hailed the Siting Council's decision as the right one.

“This is a victory not only for the town as a whole. It also is a victory for residents and businesses that would have been impacted by this project," Toner said.

Marzullo said the fight wasn't an easy one, but it was one worth having. He thanked Deluca and staff for their hard work.