The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today adopted the terms of a joint proposal granting National Grid approval to rebuild approximately 14 miles of two 115 kV electric transmission lines in Saratoga and Washington counties. The project is necessary to protect the reliability of the local grid and to address projected long-term demand created by thousands of customers in the Greater Saratoga region, including computer chip maker GLOBALFOUNDRIES.

“Rebuilding of the transmission lines is needed to relieve current and projected load constraints in the northeast region,” said Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman. “This project will serve the needs of the electric system and will improve the reliability of the transmission system in the region.”

In February 2011, National Grid filed an application seeking to reconstruct roughly 14 miles of two of its 115 kV electric transmission lines between the Mohican Substation in Saratoga County and the Battenkill Substation in Washington County to relieve current and projected load constraints in the northeast region of New York. In response to several deficiencies with its initial application, National Grid filed a supplement to its application in May 2011, and the application was deemed in compliance.

Following public statement hearings in July 2011, the company and parties began settlement negotiations which ultimately led to the filing of a joint proposal signed by National Grid, Department of Public Service staff, Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Agriculture and Markets.