CITYWATCH Top players to huddle on power line dispute BY BRIAN C. JONES

Three top players in the debate about whether to bury high-voltage power lines along the Providence waterfront are scheduled to meet Tuesday, December 16 — the same day a public hearing is to be held about the controversy. Scheduled to meet are James R. Capaldi, director of the state Department of Transportation, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, and Michael F. Ryan, executive vice president of the Narragansett Electric Company.

It’s possible, given their key positions, that the trio could come up with a plan to resolve the controversy about whether to bury 1.2 miles of electric transmission lines across the Providence and East Providence waterfronts, or instead, to keep them above ground. Capaldi would not tell the Phoenix what he plans to say at the session. But the DOT is concerned that the power line debate could delay the massive relocation of Interstate 195.

The transmission lines, slung from high metal towers, have to be relocated to make way for the highway project, which will shift a section of the expressway away from downtown as it connects with Interstate 95 (see "I-195 relocation poses big question," News, November 28). DOT wants the lines moved by November 2005. A state panel, the Energy Facility Siting Board, is set to decide the issue early next year. But court appeals could make the resolution much later, possibly affecting the highway schedule.

Up to this point, Narragansett Electric, which owns the power lines, has been virtually alone in supporting the above-ground relocation of the wires, saying that would cost only $1.7 million, while burying the lines could run $8.2 million to $9.1 million.

Proponents of the underground alternative include AG Lynch and the Friends of India Point Park. They argue that the prominent lines, strung from tall towers, give an industrial cast to the waterfronts of both Providence and East Providence at a time when they are being transformed into recreational, cultural, commercial, and residential developments.

Narragansett Electric has said it would be willing to bury the lines if a way, other than a rate hike, could be found to pay the added costs. On the same day that the three officials are set to meet, the state Public Utilities Commission has scheduled a hearing on the matter (at 1 p.m. at PUC headquarters, 89 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick). The PUC is among a number of state agencies that the Energy Facility Siting Board has asked to provide "advisory opinions" by January 30, to help that panel decide the issue. The PUC session could give an early indication of how public opinion is shaping up on the matter. Further, PUC chairman Elia Germani is one of the siting board’s three members.

One issuing being debated is how much the DOT should invest. DOT would pay most of the $1.7 million cost of the aboveground move, but if the lines are buried, it would allocate another $800,000 in "enhancement" funds, for a total contribution of $2.5 million.

Last week, James Celenza, director of the Rhode Island Committee on Occupational Safety & Health (RICOSH), said he was "disconcerted" to learn of DOT’s potential contribution to burying the lines when there are other pressing needs for transportation dollars, including the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus service. "The idea that any public transportation funds (and that is the crux — these are transportation monies) should be allocated to a cosmetic issue, while public transit and those dependent on it suffers is disturbing and completely inappropriate," Celenza wrote in an e-mail to the Phoenix and others.

Barry Schiller, transportation chairperson of the Sierra Club, favors the underground approach, saying it will be a permanent improvement to waterfront environment. Schiller, who says the club supports mass transit, believes DOT should spend more, about half the cost of burial. Barnaby Evans, the Providence artist who developed WaterFire, the river-based bonfire displays that symbolize downtown Providence’s rebirth, says he supports burying the lines, but believes it should be financed through electric rates, not tax dollars.