Cross-Sound Cable Appeals Conn. Power Line Ruling

Two weeks ago, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Lynda Munro turned down Cross-Sound Cable Co's request to order Connecticut environmental regulators to allow the operation of the cable.

The high-voltage line, capable of delivering 330 megawatts of power, has lain dormant since it was installed last May because some state regulators said it was not buried deep enough in the New Haven Harbor on the Connecticut side of Long Island Sound.

That 330 megawatts, capable of powering some 330,000 homes, could be critical for utilities on both sides of the sound this summer when power demand peaks as people crank up their air conditioners.

Power supplies on both New York's Long Island and in southwest Connecticut are some of the tightest in the nation.

Officials at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which unlike some other state regulators has said the cable could operate safely at the present depth, have refused to alter the company's permit because of a one-year moratorium blocking new power projects in the sound.

Because the moratorium, which expires on June 3, was put in place by the Connecticut Legislature after the permit was granted, Cross-Sound has argued the moratorium does not prevent the DEP from modifying the permit to allow the operation of the cable while the company fixes the depth problem.

After the lower court sided with the DEP, Cross-Sound decided to appeal the decision to the state supreme court. The company said it expects the supreme court to rule on their request for appeal by the end of the month.

The Long Island Power Authority has already said it will ask the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to order Cross-Sound to energize the cable to supply emergency power if needed during the summer months. Last year, the DOE issued a similar order that was never used.

Cross-Sound is a partnership between TransEnergie U.S. (75 percent) of Westborough, Massachusetts and a subsidiary of UIL Holdings Corp. (25 percent) of New Haven, Connecticut.

TransEnergie U.S. is a subsidiary of Canada's TransEnergie, which operates high-voltage transmission lines in Quebec for provincially owned Hydro-Quebec energy company.