CITYWATCH Stakes heighten in power line debate BY BRIAN C. JONES

The money stakes are rising in the battle over whether high-voltage power transmission lines across the Providence and East Providence waterfronts should be placed underground. In one development, a consultant to the state Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, says that the cost of burying the lines could be much higher than the Narragansett Electric Company has estimated: $20.7 million, rather than $8.2 million to $9.1 million.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch — who supports burying the lines — has added a new wrinkle, suggesting that the electric company needs easements from the City of Providence, which could substantially raise the cost of keeping the lines above ground. Lynch believes the land costs could be so hefty that it could be cheaper in the end for the electric company to bury the lines — thus resolving a debate that so far has mostly been about money.

There are existing power lines — they measure about 1.2 miles — that cross the Providence and Seekonk rivers and city parks, the largest of which is India Point Park. But the lines have to be moved slightly to help make room for the $450 million relocation of Interstate 195, shifting the highway to the south of downtown Providence as it connects with Interstate 95.

Lynch and community groups and institutions near the project argue that since the lines have to be moved anyway, they should be placed underground, thus helping to improve an industrial waterfront that is rapidly being transformed into recreational and commercial and residential uses. The electric company says it is willing to put the lines underground, but not if Rhode Island ratepayers have to shoulder the higher costs. This is why the new developments about money sharpen the debate.

Advocates of hiding the lines have been struggling for months to come up with ways of closing the gap between the electric company’s estimates of keeping the lines aboveground ($1.7 million), and burying them ($8.2 million to $9.1 million.) Now a North Carolina consultant, Gregory L. Booth, hired by the PUC division, has offered new estimates that could make that effort much more complex, saying that Narragansett has sharply underestimated underground costs.

In a testimony filed in advance of a Public Utilities Commission hearing on the debate, Booth said burial is costly in part because of the need for at least eight manholes to manage heavy electric cables, rather than the three manholes proposed by the company. Drilling under the Providence and Seekonk Rivers also is tricky. "The direct underwater route presents a directional boring challenge with unknown costs that could be exceedingly expensive and potentially unfeasible," Booth said. He pegged the project at $20.7 million, which could "easily" rise to $30 million.

Meanwhile, Lynch, in a letter to Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, says Narragansett Electric has told his office that easements will be required for the towers and lines. Lynch wrote that this could make it more expensive to keep the lines above ground, compared to the burial option. The theory is that the area has substantial value, and that millions might be required as a tradeoff for an aboveground series of towers and lines that would lower potential property values. "I suspect that when the appropriate analysis is conducted by a licensed appraiser, the devaluation of the city’s waterfront would likely be so substantial that burial of the transmission line would become the most cost-effective configuration," Lynch said.

A spokeswoman for Cicilline said the mayor needs time to study the Lynch letter.

Meanwhile, Assistant Attorney General Paul J. Roberti suggests spreading burial costs among all New England electric customers, minimizing the impact on Rhode Island ratepayers. He said the 115-kilovolt lines are part of the New England power grid, supported by all regional users.