We take great pride in protecting our environment. We believe it is our duty to maintain a safe and healthy ecosystem; in fact, this is one of our core values. Building a safe, reliable transmission system which has a minimal impact on the environment is a key goal for the projects we propose. That means using the most advanced land and vegetation management practices available along our rights of way.
New England is challenged to meet the growing need for electricity for our customers. Increasing the grid's capacity to transmit power is one way to meet the growing need and enable renewable generation.
Upgrading transmission lines connects customers to modern, state-of-the-art generation plants, while reducing the need to run older, less-efficient power plants in southwest Connecticut.
Cleaner environment
New power lines reduce air emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2) by connecting customers to new power plants that:
- use clean natural gas as the modern fuel of choice; and
- apply the best emission control technology available today to reduce stack emissions
Environmental initiatives taken in rights of way
Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) manages more than 1,500 miles of transmission rights of way in Connecticut. The company embraces a strong environmental ethic, which drives best construction and vegetation management practices in these rights of way. In addition, CL&P has begun narrowing its list of targeted plant species for treatment or removal to ensure the safety and reliability of our transmission lines. Our vegetation management group selectively applies herbicides at an average of seven tenths of a pound per acre. These herbicides are environmentally safe products that have no effects on surrounding areas while protecting the natural habitat. The products we use, in many cases, are also approved for vegetation management projects around public water supplies.
An environmental tradition
CL&P, along with other subsidiaries of Northeast Utilities, manages more than 7,000 acres of land in Connecticut. These lands are open for public use as hiking trails, for cross-country skiing and bird watching. Other large tracts are designated as wildlife management areas. Read more about managing Transmission's corridors for wildlife.
Environmental Stewardship
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