The Connecticut Siting Council, which regulates utility projects, asked Eversource last month to address reports of trees and vegetation it cleared in Greenfield Hill for a project to build taller poles along more than nine miles of transmission lines from Weston to Bridgeport. Utility companies’ legal power has been a matter of public debate since UI’s proposal in Fairfield and Bridgeport set off a groundswell of public opposition last year due to private property access and potential damage to the local environment, economy and skyline. Roughly three months after the Siting Council approved the project, albeit a revised version affecting a new swath of properties that never had the chance to intervene in the process, state lawmakers passed legislation reforming the council’s proceedings that weigh project applications. The purpose behind Eversource’s project seems largely the same as UI’s. Ratliff said steel poles are replacing aging infrastructure along its transmission lines to ensure its electric grid is more resilient in cases of extreme weather. The Siting Council’s website states construction started last year, and neighbors said Eversource has since built the poles, which stand up to 100 feet high.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/eversource-tree-fairfield-ct-electric-utility-pole-19717361.php