Westfield Mayor: PSE&G 69Kv Project 'Not Happening' As Proposed

WESTFIELD, NJ - The much maligned PSE&G 69Kv infrastructure upgrade, that was put on hold after residents and officials expressed concerns, will not happen as originally proposed, according to Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle.

According to PSE&G, the proposed electric reliability project in Westfield is part of a statewide plan to upgrade its infrastructure to ensure that the utility can meet the needs of customers today and well into the future. By installing stronger poles and state-of-the-art wires and other equipment, PSE&G has been upgrading its electric system throughout the state to withstand increasingly damaging storms due to climate change and to meet the demand for electricity.

PSE&G said they provided preliminary information to Westfield Township in December and the company and township officials did not have the opportunity to review the full scope of project in detail until Feb. 26. After that, PSE&G said they provided additional information on the proposed route and the tree work that would be needed to accommodate the new, more resilient poles.

On March 6 PSE&G sent letters to customers along the route notifying them about the necessary tree work as well as the pole replacements which sparked a backlash from residents.

"Because residents raised a number of questions and concerns, PSE&G and the township agreed to host a community workshop instead to allow company experts to answer questions that individual customers may have," the company wrote in a statement. "The workshop is the most effective way for residents to receive the specific information that is most important to them. We are working with officials to schedule the workshop."

PES&G said they are not performing any work in the meantime while they work with Westfield officials to arrive at a suitable solution. For her part, Brindle said depending upon the outcome of the Thursday meeting, they may have more to share in the next few days.

The balance of Brindle's statement follows:

Rest assured, all of your elected officials are united in support of our residents. As far as we are all concerned, this project will not proceed as proposed. No work will begin until the public has had the opportunity to weigh in at a PSE&G public workshop and an alternate plan is ultimately approved by Town officials. We are prepared to take legal action if PSE&G insists on moving forward with this plan, but our preliminary conversations indicate this extreme measure will not be necessary. We have always had a good, professional working relationship with PSE&G and expect that to bear fruit in this case. More to come in the coming days.

In the meantime, I have spoken with all of our neighboring Mayors, including Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Cranford and Garwood, and we have agreed to keep each other apprised of our PSE&G conversations and proposed solutions since this project affects each one of our communities. We will all meet once I have an indication of how this project will move forward in Westfield so we can collectively advocate for our entire corridor.

Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr, in her capacity as President of the NJ League of Municipalities, has been a particularly strong advocate on behalf of Westfield and all municipalities who are burdened with fighting empowered utility companies at resident and taxpayer expense. She, like most mayors, was also unaware of the degree this project impacted her community.

As a reminder, this 69Kv project is part of a larger PSE&G statewide initiative that began in 2007 intended to improve service reliability and mitigate service outages, which became a higher priority after Superstorm Sandy and the increasingly frequent number of storms. Locally, PSE&G’s plan is to upgrade capacity and connect the substations in our region so in the event one goes out, power can be redirected to another. While we are fortunate Westfield doesn’t have a major substation, we do rely on the adjacent substations to power our town. This serves as a valuable reason why collaboration and communication amongst Mayors and legislators is imperative.

I understand residents in the affected wards as well as throughout town are upset and concerned about the scope of the project and its implications, and that everyone is looking for answers. Unfortunately this has resulted in some misinformation about the communication process, and since I was not contacted to comment on the story before it ran, conspiracy theories took hold. That being said, there is a legitimate question regarding how this project got so far without the knowledge of residents. PSE&G has since acknowledged that Town officials were unaware of the full scope of the details of this project until it was presented to the full Council on February 26. I have copied the clarifying statement that PSE&G sent to the press below.

None of this should detract from the important fact that this project as proposed is not happening.

Once again, it is great to see the activism and engagement of our community which has not gone unnoticed by PSE&G. Having a public, forceful, and united display of support is incredibly helpful as we demand alternatives.

I will continue to keep you apprised of our conversations, and encourage you to continue to mobilize. I would also ask that you reach out to our legislators to ask them not to support the Vegetation Management Response Act which allows utility companies to remove trees without getting permission from municipalities. This bill was unfortunately already approved almost unanimously by the Assembly in December. It has not yet passed in the Senate so now would be a good time to weigh in. We are not suggesting that we do not need to fortify our infrastructure, we are only asking that municipalities have a seat at the table to collaborate on solutions.

Thanks for your concern, engagement, and support. We stand as one.

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