MMWEC publicly supports SeaLink project

Date: 9/26/2014

LUDLOW – The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) announced on Sept. 10 its public support for and plans to participate in the New Hampshire Transmission, LLC (NHT) SeaLink project as the preferred transmission alternative to address the urgent electric reliability issues facing northeastern Massachusetts.

“MMWEC’s first priority is the reliable delivery of electricity at a reasonable cost to our customers across Massachusetts including the approximate 100,000 MMWEC customers living in the Greater Boston area,” MMWEC’s CEO Ronald DeCurzio, said. “We have been and remain very concerned about the regional transmission and resource challenges that leave the Greater Boston electric system at risk and believe SeaLink is the best overall transmission solution for our customers.”

NHT’s proposed project is to construct, own and operate a 68-mile, submarine and underground electric transmission line – 50 miles of which will be under the ocean bed – between Seabrook, N.H., and Everett. The 520-megawatt transmission line will use the latest in offshore and onshore electric transmission technology, consistent with efforts to make the power grid more resilient and responsive to customer demands.

 “With most of the project offshore, it could be permitted and constructed with fewer community and electric system impacts than the alternative land-based project, making SeaLink the faster solution for our customers,” DeCurzio said.

In addition, as an underground project, it will be hardened against extreme weather providing a higher level of energy security to the Greater Boston area.

“NHT welcomes the opportunity to partner with a nonprofit, consumer-focused agency like MMWEC on this project,” Matt Valle, president of NHT, said. “MMWEC has found its concerns about reliability and cost are best addressed by the SeaLink alternative, which also will provide the entire area with the fastest, most cost effective and reliable transmission line.”

ISO New England is expected to make a decision in late 2014 on which of the alternatives will be developed. With its planned investment, MMWEC stands in strong support of the SeaLink project to ensure a continued standard of high quality service to its customers.

MMWEC, a nonprofit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, is the joint action agency for public power in Massachusetts, providing a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state’s consumer-owned, municipal utilities.