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BURYING THE
WATERFRONT POWER LINES 
Please
sign our petition at Change.org
Overview
of Burying Providence Waterfront Power Lines
$17.2
Million Raised & Designated for burying the
wires under 2 rivers and 3 waterfront parks, from
federal, state, and ratepayer sources. This represents
90% of National Grid's '07 cost estimate of $18.965M
(which includes $1M to acquire land in Providence that
will revert back to the City).
- National Grid added a 3% escalation figure in
4/13, bringing its cost estimate to $22.7M ? even as
the Narragansett Bay Commission's large sewer
construction contracts are coming in an average of 36%
below estimates because stiff competition
among contractors in our slack economy is driving
costs down.
- The total raised will increase when
National Grid updates (1) the interest accrued on
funds set aside for burial in 2004, and (2) the cost
estimate of the Seekonk river crossing to be funded
by the regional grid.
- Use it or lose it: If not spent on burial,
these funds will dissipate with no comparable,
large-scale benefit.
- No city funds from the Providence or East
Providence budgets are included in the $17.2M
raised.
- The shortfall will be covered by a
surcharge on Providence and E. Providence
electricity rates (authorized by state law and
approved by the City Councils), costing the average
ratepayer 3 cents a month for every $ 1million
raised, National Grid says, or 20 cents a month
– less than 1/2 a postage stamp – if the shortfall
were to increase to $6.5M. This will buy a benefit
for the region for the next 100 years or more.
Economic
and Environmental Benefits:
- Proximity to power lines depresses property
values by as much as 30%, according to
multiple studies. Burying these wires will provide
100 jobs, and will increase the cities tax
base, which will reap benefits for
generations, including higher assessments for
Providence's nearby I-195 development parcels and
East Providence's waterfront recently opened up to
developers.
- The Shooters site, with its showcase location,
would be far more appealing for the public
waterfront destination that has been proposed
there.
- No more storm outage worries, and the wires'
electro-magnetic field, with its public health
concerns for parks and nearby residences, will be
reduced to "virtually nil" by burial, according to
government reports.
Broad
Public Support for burial, endorsed by:
- Gov. Chafee, Mayor Taveras, three
university presidents, labor union leaders, and
waterfront developers
- 35 city & state organizations,
including 10 Providence neighborhood groups and
8 environmental groups.
- Over 645 people from all 39 RI cities
& towns have signed our petition at
www.friendsofindiapointpark.org
Next
Steps:
- Acquire small waterfront parcel in
Providence.
- Resolve E. Providence issues re property
acquisition, re-aligning remaining overhead
line, and legal fees.
- Detailed updates of:
- National Grid's 2007 cost estimate
- the interest accrued to date on funds
set aside for burial by Nat'l Grid in 2004
- the cost of the Seekonk river crossing
to be paid by the regional grid, ISO-New
England
- the Greenway grants, to be confirmed by
state agencies DEM and DOT.
For more information, see the links above.
Thank You to Our Cleanup Volunteers!
About 40 people of
all ages pitched in at our 13th Annual Cleanup on
Sunday, April 21, mulching, weeding, painting, and
filling lawn bags with litter, in addition to
working with Parks Department staff to spread a
large pile of high-quality mulch around the Park's
popular playground.
A hearty THANK YOU to all, including Dunkin'
Donuts for donating coffee and munchkins, Cafe Zog
for sandwiches, Groundwork Providence for tools,
and the Narragansett Bay Commission and the
Partnership for Providence Parks for funding. For
more photos, see FIPP's Facebook page.
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