Connecticut Light & Power serves one of the most power-constrained regions in the United States. Recognizing the need to meet the area's growing demand for power, CL&P (Berlin, Connecticut, U.S.), a wholly owned subsidiary of Northeast Utilities (NU; Hartford, Connecticut), is strengthening the transmission capacity to the southwest part of the state. The result is the Middletown-Norwalk Project (MNP), which is now one of the largest transmission projects in the history of this industry.

At first, CL&P considered the two standard methods used for accomplishing major construction projects: the design-bid-build approach and the design-build approach.

In the design-bid-build model, CL&P would act as general contractor, manage the project with internal resources and assume all responsibilities including hiring design engineers, procuring materials and equipment, developing construction work scopes and hiring contractors.

Under the design-build approach, also known as engineer-procure-construct (EPC) or turnkey, CL&P would define a construction project and hire a design-build team to assume responsibility for engineering, procurement, construction and coordination of the work. As the owner, CL&P would still manage the project, but leave construction management details to the general contractor.

As the scope of the MNP emerged and construction costs and timelines came into sharper focus, the utility realized the project was too critical and complex to manage entirely with existing internal resources.

CL&P desired a new approach where it could manage the overall project without adding significant internal resources. CL&P determined that a partnership with a firm that was a recognized expert in the design and construction of transmission facilities was the path to a successful project. Engineering and construction firm Burns & McDonnell (Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.) recognized CL&P's challenge and offered an innovative solution, the concept known as program management: a proven solution in other industries for managing complex, large-scale and capital projects.

Under the program management model, the owner hires a firm that serves as the owner's manager, or agent, to oversee the entire process from design through construction. Although the program manager works for the owner, a partnership is developed with a strong focus on flexibility.

In this case, the program manager assisted with the initial project design, then formulated an execution plan that identified the scope of construction and the strategy for contracting for the various parts of the project. The result was a master plan for CL&P's US$1.05 billion share of the MNP, which started construction in April 2006 and is scheduled for completion by December 2009.

Program management is most successful because tasks such as planning, permitting, design and construction are advanced simultaneously whenever possible, rather than in a linear fashion. A program manager has intimate knowledge of every activity, enabling the direction and allocation of resources to support the master plan. In this case, the program manager has specific contractual functions:

• Real estate acquisition

  Most of the MNP will be constructed on public streets and other existing rights-of-way (ROW). However, the project will require purchasing some privately owned land and easements to accommodate portions of the project and to provide construction access. The program management team works with CL&P's land acquisition team to manage the timing of land and easement purchases to support construction sequencing.

• Permitting and environmental planning

  Many federal, state and local permits are required before construction begins. The program manager supports the permitting processes and monitors environmental compliance throughout construction.

• Design

  Burns & McDonnell used internal resources to handle most design work, contracting some detailed elements to other firms. Preliminary design work garnered unanimous approval from the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC). Approximately 30% of the MNP was designed before the final budget and schedule were determined. This mode of operation can provide flexibility in budgeting and scheduling. Under conventional project approaches, modifications to the project can be costly and time consuming.

• Procurement

  Project risk is heightened by competition for construction labor from major transmission projects elsewhere. To reduce this risk, the program management team has met with vendors, gathered data and analyzed market trends to keep its contracting strategy flexible. Mitigating risk is also critical in securing materials and equipment. For example, long-lead major materials and equipment were procured independent of construction to reduce scheduling risk. The 345-kV transmission cable is being specified and procured on the worldwide market. To limit manufacturing risk, no single vendor is allowed to supply the total amount of transmission cable needed, with overall cable quantities being divided into smaller lots to maintain delivery schedules, secure optimal pricing and mitigate risk.

• Community relations

  Community relations play an important role for the utility. This project has three full-time public relations professionals in Connecticut working with CL&P's corporate communications staff and utilizing CL&P's lessons learned to respond to public inquiries. They also meet with stakeholders to explain project details. A toll-free number and project website provides the public with an immediate avenue for project contact.

• Safety

  Burns & McDonnell is conducting safety orientation to every person working on-site. Four full-time safety managers continually monitor the project and mitigate any safety concerns that develop along the way. The contract with CL&P is incentive based, providing financial rewards for maintaining high safety standards and, conversely, penalties for a poor safety record.

• Project controls

  A complex financial, scheduling and change management system — designed to collect and report on submittals, requests for information, drawings, meeting minutes and public feedback — is in place to keep the project on schedule and help control costs. Primavera Systems' P3e/c is used to track and report on the schedule. Expedition version 10.0 provides documentation for all project decisions and tracks project funding, costs and contract information based on CL&P's cost-accounting structures. Both software systems are Web-based, allowing authorized users to access the system from anywhere, anytime.