Eversource Energy and National Grid have filed a permit application with the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) for a proposed new underground transmission line to connect Eversource’s Woburn Substation in Woburn, Massachusetts, to National Grid’s Wakefield Junction Substation in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
The Woburn to Wakefield Line Project is part of the Greater Boston and New Hampshire Solution. This suite of transmission projects addresses an urgent need identified by New England’s power grid manager, ISO New England, to strengthen the region’s electric system, while balancing consumer cost with community and environmental impact.
In February 2015, the Greater Boston and New Hampshire Solution was selected by ISO-NE as the preferred solution for the identified system reliability need.
The new line will extend approximately 8.5 miles through Woburn, Winchester, Stoneham, and Wakefield, MA. The proposed project also includes improvements within the existing fence lines of the Woburn and Wakefield Junction substations.
The project requires approval from the Massachusetts EFSB, part of the Department of Public Utilities, and the siting process includes both public and evidentiary hearings. The public and all interested parties have the opportunity to participate in the siting process through the EFSB-sponsored public hearings. Pending regulatory approvals, construction is scheduled to begin in 2017.
The EFSB approval process follows a series of public open houses and presentations to town officials in each of the four municipalities along the route, conducted in late 2014 and throughout 2015. National Grid and Eversource remain committed to continuing public education on the proposed project and will undertake extensive outreach activities in the months ahead.
