News

LIPA: Transmission line upgrade will boost service on North Fork

PETER BOODY FILE PHOTO | A LIPA crew at work to fix an outage following Tropical Storm Irene.

The Long Island Power Authority is scheduled to announce a major upgrade to the East End power system Tuesday in Riverhead.

LIPA chief operating officer Michael Hervey is scheduled to announce plans for a major transmission line upgrade stretching from LIPA’s Wildwood substation in Wading River to its Riverhead substation on West Main Street, near Snowflake.

The project would upgrade that 10.6 mile transmission line from its current 69 kilovolt transmission circuit to a 138 kilovolt circuit, a move that LIPA says will increase both the reliability and the transmission capacity of its service on both the North and South Forks.

“Without the project, the capacity from the existing transmission system will be inadequate to serve eastern Brookhaven and the East End electricity needs as early as the summer of 2013,” LIPA said in its state application for  the project last year.

The New York State Public Service Commission recently approved a “certificate of environmental compatibility” for the project, according to LIPA.

Suffolk County Legislature Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) and state Assemblyman Dan Losquadro (R-Shoreham) also are expected to attend the 9:30 p.m. press conference tomorrow at the Riverhead substation.

[email protected]