Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) has asked the state Siting Council to delay a vote on whether to approve United Illuminating's construction in Fairfield County.
UI said they would not oppose the delay.
Lamont made the announcement at the State Capitol on Tuesday, as lawmakers and community members rallied against a proposal to build taller monopoles and utility easements on private and public properties in their area.
“I want a delay to see a better way to do this,” Lamont said, according to a press release from the town of Fairfield. “We’re not going to let UI rush into a bad decision.”
UI’s attempts to finish a years-long project in the area have been met with bipartisan opposition from lawmakers and community members in Bridgeport, Fairfield, and Southport.
They’re concerned the company and the Siting Council, which is responsible for reviewing utility projects in the state, didn’t follow proper protocol while advancing the project. A Superior Court judge agreed with them earlier this year.
UI has maintained that the project is needed to upgrade the power grid in the area, and that burying the lines would cost an additional $500 million, which CT ratepayers would bear.
“Governor Lamont has heard the voices of the people of Fairfield and Bridgeport and has offered both our municipalities and UI an opportunity to start again, this time with a plan that takes our concerns into account,” Fairfield First Selectman Christine Vitale (D) said. “Now I call upon UI to finally sit down with us to meaningfully evaluate alternatives that will minimize disruption to the precious resources in our community.”
The Siting Council was expected to hold a final vote on the project this Thursday. However, they unofficially voted against it through a straw poll earlier this summer and then voted for it two months later.
