New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Dec. 13 announced the completion of the Central East Energy Connect transmission project, which involves an upgrade of transmission lines to relieve congestion and enable integration of more renewable energy into the state power grid.
Central East Energy Connect is a joint project by LS Power Grid New York and the New York Power Authority.
The 93-mile transmission line project involved the installation of more than 650 new steel transmission monopoles as well as the construction of two new state-of-the-art transmission substations in Schenectady County, which will allow for increased power transfer capacity and more reliable transmission.
The newly rebuilt transmission corridor can carry nearly five times the amount of electricity as the old lines.
The more than $600 million CEEC transmission improvement project, built for approximately $200 million less than the estimated cost provided by New York Independent System Operator’s independent evaluation, kicked off construction in February 2021.
The project upgraded energy transmission capacity along an existing 93-mile transmission line in the Mohawk Valley and Capital Region, a heavily congested corridor for energy transmission.
The CEEC upgrade project involved replacing existing lines and wooden poles, some of which are about 60 years old, with stronger steel monopoles in existing utility rights-of-way and building two new substations.
In total, the project removed approximately 1,250 aging transmission structures and replaced them with more than 650 monopoles. This work increased the resiliency of the line to strengthen it against extreme weather and supports the transmission of clean energy across the state.
“New York’s clean energy economy depends on a robust, resilient, reliable power grid,” New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin Driscoll said.
“The Central East Energy Connect corridor was plagued by congestion and outdated infrastructure related problems for decades. Now with the state’s prioritization of clean energy infrastructure investment, a more streamlined bidding process, and the industry’s synergy in working together to upgrade our transmission system, we are making great progress in modernizing our grid,” he said. “I am so proud of our transmission team and our colleagues at LS Power for completing this Central East Energy Connect project within three years.”
The project is part of a larger buildout of transmission projects across the state, including more than 1,000 miles of planned transmission investments that will maximize the use of renewable energy for parts of the state that rely heavily on fossil fuel plants.
In addition to the completion of the CEEC project, several other New York State transmission projects are progressing toward completion or are completed and in service, including NYPA’s Smart Path which was completed earlier this year and Smart Path Connect, a transmission rebuild project in the North Country and Oneida County that NYPA is working on with National Grid.
Two recently energized transmission lines are New York Transco's New York Energy Solution, which recently completed the rebuild of approximately 54 miles of transmission lines in the Hudson Valley, and NextEra Energy Transmission New York's Empire State Line Project which completed approximately 20 new transmission miles in Western New York.
