UI Energizes New Transmission Infrastructure to Strengthen Electric Reliability and Resiliency for Region

Following $50 million infrastructure investment, 1.3-mile segment from West River substation in New Haven to Elmwest substation in West Haven now energized
 

First segment of the Milvon to West River transmission line rebuild is part of the 25-mile $800 million Railroad Transmission Lines Upgrade Program to rebuild transmission lines from New Haven to Fairfield to increase reliability and resiliency of transmission network


WEST HAVEN, Conn. — June 20, 2024 — Today, United Illuminating (UI), a subsidiary of Avangrid (NYSE: AGR), announced it has energized the first 1.3-mile segment of the Milvon to West River transmission line rebuild project, encompassing nearly 63,000 feet of upgraded transmission conductor and optical ground wire (OPGW) from West River substation in New Haven to Elmwest substation in West Haven. This newly energized transmission route is the first of four segments in the Milvon to West River transmission line rebuild project, in which transmission infrastructure extending 9.5 miles from New Haven to Milford will be replaced and rebuilt with modern, upgraded infrastructure to ensure continued electric reliability and resiliency into the future for UI’s customers and the New England region. The Milvon to West River project is an essential piece of the 25-mile Railroad Transmission Lines Upgrade Program, which began in 2012 to remove UI’s decades-old transmission infrastructure atop the MetroNorth railroad catenary structures and replace it with resilient steel monopoles that stand alongside but separate from the railroad infrastructure.

“In order to bring the clean energy transition to life, our electric infrastructure, especially the transmission network, must have the capacity to withstand both increased usage and increased importance,” said Pedro Azagra, CEO of Avangrid. “This makes it incumbent on utilities like UI to ensure the small piece of the transmission grid we manage is strong, resilient, and exceedingly reliable, which is why we have so persistently pursued this essential transmission line rebuild program. I am very proud of the team for the many hours of hard work it took to achieve this significant milestone for the Milvon to West River portion of this project, and I look forward to seeing it completed for the benefit of all UI customers, all of Connecticut, and the 14 million electric customers served by ISO-New England.”

For more than 80 years, UI’s 115-kv transmission infrastructure from New Haven to Fairfield has been located on bonnets atop the MetroNorth Railroad catenaries. In 2012, as part of its asset condition assessments, UI identified a reliability and resiliency challenge with both the infrastructure and its position on the railroad, as the co-mingled infrastructure made it difficult or impossible to upgrade and modernize the equipment of either MetroNorth or UI. Thus, following discussions with the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT), UI developed a plan in which the company would remove its transmission infrastructure from the railroad’s catenary bonnets and replace it on steel monopoles within the railroad right-of-way or directly abutting this utility corridor. The program has been evaluated, sited, designed, and constructed in five distinct projects: 

  • Phase I: Baird substation to Congress substation in northern Bridgeport; 
  • Phase II: Housatonic River in northern Stratford and southern Milford; 
  • Phase III: HRX to Baird in Stratford and Milford; 
  • Phase IV: Milvon to West River in New Haven, West Haven, Orange and Milford; and 
  • Phase V: Fairfield to Congress substation in Bridgeport and Fairfield. 

The first three phases have been completed; the fourth phase (Milvon to West River) is currently under construction; the fifth phase (Fairfield to Congress) is currently being designed, and due diligence is underway to determine the project route.

“At UI, our reliability is one of our strongest assets, and we are very proud that the average UI customer will only see one power outage every other year on a blue-sky day,” said Frank Reynolds, President & CEO of UI. “We know the excellent reliability our customers enjoy day-in and day-out did not happen by accident: it took investment, and particularly the kind of strategic investment that’s looking forward to what the future holds. As we bring this first segment of the Milvon to West River phase into service, I am reflecting on how we must continue to invest in our transmission system to prepare for a future in which electricity is not just important, but essential. I am grateful to the team for identifying the critical need for this upgrade program 12 years ago, and I encourage them to keep pressing on so we can serve our customers with even better service.”

Milvon to West River is a four-segment transmission line rebuild project that begins at West River substation in New Haven and will end at Milvon substation in Milford. Each segment will be completed consecutively as construction moves southwest-ward from New Haven to Milford. In completing and energizing segment 1, 62,970 feet of conductor and OPGW was installed, 20 bonnets have been removed from MetroNorth’s railroad infrastructure thus far, and 24 double-circuit monopoles were installed in the railroad right-of-way. Following the energization of segment 1, property and resource area such as wetlands and watercourse restoration is now in progress following temporary construction impacts of inland and tidal wetlands, and UI, its contractor (McPhee Electric Ltd.), and McPhee’s subcontractors (Aldridge and Supreme Industries) are beginning work on segment 2, another 1.3-mile segment from Elmwest substation in West Haven to Allings Crossing substation in West Haven.

“I extend my sincere congratulations to the team for achieving this fantastic milestone in the continued execution of the Railroad Transmission Line Upgrade Program,” said Jim Cole, Vice President of Projects at Avangrid. “Today, the countless hours put in by our engineers and project managers at UI as well as our fantastic contractors and subcontractors at McPhee Electric, Aldridge, and Supreme Industries have paid off with the first segment of the Milvon to West River now energized and actively serving customers. While our work is not yet finished, I am deeply impressed with the commitment of so many to bring this segment to fruition, and I thank them for working hard to achieve this work on budget and on schedule.”
For more information on UI’s Railroad Transmission Lines Upgrade Program, please visit: UI Railroad Transmission Lines Upgrade Project

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