Hingham’s municipal electric company is holding a public virtual meeting on Oct. 12 to get feedback from Hingham and Weymouth residents about a proposed project in both towns that is designed to make electric service in Hingham more reliable.
The project includes a 3.7-mile underground transmission line in Weymouth and Hingham, a new Eversource electric station near the Connell Ice Rink in Weymouth, and a new Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant substation near the Hingham dump or transfer station.
“When construction is completed, residents and businesses in both Weymouth and Hingham will not know that the line is there,” said Tom Morahan, general manager of Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant. “But in order to get to that point, there will be some temporary disruption, and HMLP is committed to working with all affected residents, businesses, and officials to ensure that local concerns are fully heard and that the impacts of construction are minimized.”
Hingham currently gets its electricity from two overhead transmission lines that travel the same route and share a common set of supports and poles. The new project is designed to provide a backup line to increase reliability, as well as a new substation to provide additional electrical capacity.
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The proposed new transmission line would tap into the Massachusetts electrical grid at a new Eversource station in Weymouth, and run underground along public rights of way from Weymouth to Hingham.
Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant officials said they plan to apply to the state Energy Facilities Siting Board in early 2023, and that the approval process takes 18 to 24 months.
Officials said the project also needs approval from the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office, as well as Hingham and Weymouth conservation commissions and planning and zoning agencies.
If approved, construction typically proceeds at a pace of about 100 feet a day, officials said.
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The Zoom event will be held Oct. 12, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81699378942?pwd=S3hzL1VUN2xyeVJwRWNLUVg5ZHF6dz09