Controversial Cable Energized As States and Feds Fight On
The fierce political fight over an underwater power cable between New Haven, Conn., and Shoreham, N.Y., is shaping up as a symbol of the Bush administrations push to assert more federal authority over key interstate transmission upgrades that are blocked by states.
On Aug. 15, the Long Island Power Authority used the $130 million Cross-Sound Cable to import power to help restore its system, which had been knocked out two days earlier by the massive Northeastern blackout. The 24-mile, 330-Mw line jointly owned by TransEnergie U.S., a subsidiary of Canadian utility Hydro-Québec and Connecticut utility UIL Holdings, was completed in May 2002, but this was the first time it had been energized.