| 04.07.05
Town delays major power line
review
BY SCOTT MONROE, STOWE REPORTER
Electric company officials who want to run new power lines
on 58-foot-high structures through the southern portion of
Stowe were told Monday that they needed to return in about
a month to meet again with local planners and residents.
The proposed power line is part of a $13.4 million power upgrade
for the region that has been requested by local electric utilities.
Residents at a Stowe Planning Commission meeting Monday said
some neighbors to the proposed power line were not notified
properly. Commission members felt that was enough to order
Vermont Electric Power Company officials, who are required
to notify townspeople, to return May 3 for another hearing.
VELCO needs Stowe municipal approval before it can file for
state permits to build a 10.5-mile power line from Duxbury
to a new substation in Stowe.
The 115 kilovolt transmission line would run from Duxbury
along Route 2, and then along Route 100, through woods and
farm fields, following an existing, smaller power line to
the sub station off River Road. A bigger substation at the
site also is planned. From Stowe, the new line would feed
into the existing northern loop to supply both Lamoille County
and Hardwick.
The power line crosses an estimated 59 private properties
in Stowe, according to VELCO officials.
The bigger 115 kilovolt line has been requested by Stowe Electric
to provide the region with enough electricity to handle growing
power needs for at least the next 20 years.
The existing line feeding into the northern loop, which provides
power to Stowe and neighboring communities, is currently fed
by a much smaller 34.5 kilovolt line. Electric officials expect
the new line to be operational by 2006.
VELCO officials estimate the power upgrade, which also includes
the construction of two new substations, will cost $13.4 million.
Approximately $3 million of that total is expected to be paid
for by a New England utility pool; the remaining $10.4 million
must be divided among a consortium of Lamoille County utilities.
Stowe, with the most growth in the county, will likely be
paying the largest single chunk of the cost. Stowe Electric
General Manager Bernard Machia at Monday’s meeting said
Stowe would benefit the most and therefore pay the most.
“Stowe could be (paying) up to 40 percent of the project,”
said Machia, who is the designated spokesperson for the electric
consortium that includes Morrisville Water and Light, Hardwick
Electric, Green Mountain Power and others. “Everybody’s
meeting now to strike up cost sharing. We’re meeting
again next week.”
Stowe Mountain Resort, which was expected to max out the northern
loop’s current load capacity, is required to contribute
$750,000 toward the power upgrade as part of its Act 250 permit.
But the winter is generally not viewed as the season when
most power is needed.
VELCO’s Project Manager Kim Moulton said the winter
peak load of electricity has leveled recently, but the summer
load has increased about 13 percent annually the last few
years. This is attributed in part to more houses with more
air-conditioners.
“The summer load scares me right now... more than the
winter load,” Moulton said.
In order to handle future growth, especially during the upcoming
summer months, the proposed upgrade is seen as essential by
local electric utitilities.
“We feel now is the time to get this new additional
source to the area,” Moulton said. “This is the
least cost, best alternative we could develop.”
The new 115 Kilovolt line would use the same right of way
as the old 34.5 Kilovolt line, which runs through mostly forest
land west of Route 100, except where it crosses Moscow Road
in Stowe. The line will be all above ground using “H-frame”
poles, about 20 feet taller than the existing 38 foot-tall
poles, and use a crosspiece to hold three lines.
The proposed upgrade comes in response to a 1999 VELCO study
that found Lamoille County’s electrical infrastructure
to be dangerously outdated. Without an upgrade homes and businesses
will likely face blackouts and other diminished power problems,
according to VELCO.
The local upgrade is part of a larger, statewide $200 million
plan. The biggest power shortage is in Chittenden County,
where the emergence of new stores and homes has stressed voltage
load.
VELCO is required to meet with local planning commissions
and townspeople before going ahead with such projects. Once
it receives local approval, VELCO will seek Vermont Department
of Public Service approval by the end of June 2004 and begin
construction six months later.
Reprinted
with permission of the Stowe Reporter
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