On March 13, 2007 the Rhode Island Energy Facilities Siting Board approved National Grid’s plan for improving the Southern Rhode Island transmission system. The projects include upgrading existing transmission lines, adding a new line in the existing transmission line corridor, modifying existing area substations and adding a new substation to the system. We plan to start the first phase of construction the week of April 16, 2007. The first phase will consist of surveying the transmission line corridor from the “Old Baptist Tap Point” in East Greenwich to the “West Kingston Substation” in West Kingston to accommodate the new transmission line.

October 2006 Notification of Field Work

In order to assist us with the design phase of the proposed Southern RI Transmission projects, National Grid will be performing soil test borings and probes at various locations along the right-of-way corridor in East Greenwich, North Kingstown, Exeter and South Kingstown. These soil tests are typically performed at locations where we may need foundations for the proposed new structures. The work will begin on October 11th and run through mid-November. We wanted to provide neighbors to the project with this courtesy notification in the event that you see a drilling rig vehicle in the right-of-way near your home.

Public Outreach and Schedule

During spring and summer 2005, we reached out to local and state officials whose jurisdictions coincide with communities where we expect to do work. Four open houses were held in early June 2005 to obtain public input.  As follow on, we met with neighbors to address specific questions and issues that have been raised and that process continues. The Energy Facility Siting Board application was filed in November 2005 and filings are ongoing for other permits. Our target date for completing construction is mid-2007.

05/30/06 — Southern Rhode Island Transmission Project Presentation (.ppt)


If you would like additional information or have questions, please email us or call the project hotline at 1-866-211-8126.