Conn. utility proposes costly transmission project

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut's largest utility is proposing to spend $47 million to bury power lines to improve electric reliability in Stamford.

Connecticut Light & Power is proposing a 115,000-volt underground transmission line about 1.5 miles that will connect two substations in the city.

Critics who said CL&P, a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, restored power too slowly after powerful storms in 2011 urged the utility to bury lines to avoid power outages.

However, spokesman Frank Poirot (PIE'-roh) said Wednesday that the Stamford project was proposed four or five years ago to keep up with rising demand for electricity in the populous southwestern Connecticut city. He says burying lines is feasible in urban, densely populated areas.

CL&P has invited the public to view the project at 6 p.m. Jan. 8 in the Stamford Government Center.