Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc.(fka LLEG)

[discreet_suffolk]

Looks like PSNH wants to upgrade the power line NOW not later


PSNH says sorry, but sticks to plan


By ALEC O'MEARA
Union Leader Correspondent
Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2009

LONDONDERRY – PSNH will move forward with plans to install a new corridor of power lines through a north Londonderry neighborhood despite strong public resistance to the project, said spokesman Elizabeth LaRocca.

"We saw that there was a lot of opposition, and we listened to that and we took a step back, but we are ready to move forward again," LaRocca said. "We've got to be able to serve the load we are expecting, but we realize we aren't going to make everybody happy."

Last May, 10 abutters to a 45-year-old right-of way in the Springwood Hills neighborhood off Rockingham Road learned through a certified letter that PSNH was planning to activate the corridor and build power lines through the center of the development. The plan, LaRocca said, is to add substations to the utility's transfer station on Scobie Pond Road and build a new, 2.5-mile corridor from the substations to Rockingham Road. The new transfer lines would assist with the holding power load for the northern part of town, LaRocca said, transferring a portion of the burden to Mammoth Road and improving the capacity of the entire region.

The downside, LaRocca conceded, is the impact to Springwood Hills. Some of the properties in the development have built homes within the right-of-way, and a swath of 100 feet of foliage may be cut to make room for the power lines.

Views and properties will be impacted by the project, LaRocca said.

"The project at hand is needed for the infrastructure to meet peak demand for the system," LaRocca said. "That said, I understand why people are upset. Homes are the largest investment many of us make, and people are understandably frightened about this."

LaRocca said that if PSNH got the wetlands permits it needs for the project, construction would begin this fall with a targeted completion date in the summer of 2011.

Upset the long dormant right-of-way was activated, the 10 residents asked the town council in May to see whether there were any alternatives to the plan. Last night, LaRocca and project engineer Russel Johnson reported to the council that there were no other options on the table to build the needed corridor.

Council chairman Mike Brown noted no residents from the neighborhood attended the presentation and asked LaRocca what sort of communication was currently going on between her and the homeowners. LaRocca said PSNH was looking to avoid a large meeting with all the homeowners at once, but planned to meet with each affected home and find individual solutions for each home.

LaRocca noted that the homeowners had been contacted before the town through the certified letters but wondered aloud whether that should have been the first contact PSNH had with the neighborhood.

"I have to tell you, I've seen worse situations, and I think the town and the developers did a good job when this went through," she said.

"Yes, it is going to change people's views, going to eliminate some people's trees. I've seen a lot worse, though, and I assure you, you have our commitment that we will work to solve their problems and address them as best as we can while meeting our needs."

Brown thanked LaRocca for the update and urged PSNH to maintain strong communication with the affected households.

"I think you've handled it exactly the right way," Brown said, referring to the choice of notifying the homeowners by letter before coming before the town.

Springwood Hills neighborhood spokesman Bruce Connell, the leader of the opposition to the project, did not respond to a request for comment on the PSNH development. Connell has said previously he expects to lose as much as 20 percent of the value of his home because of the power lines, but does not question PSNH's right to install the corridor, which predates all homes in the area by 22 years.


http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=PSNH+says+sorry%2C+but+sticks+to+plan&articleId=4264ed41-e5b1-496e-9796-22d74450d183