THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION RELIABILITY PROJECTS APPLICATION TO THE CONNECTICUT SITING COUNCIL FOR CERTIFICATES OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY AND PUBLIC NEED FOR THE CONNECTICUT PORTION OF THE GREATER SPRINGFIELD RELIABILITY PROJECT AND FOR THE MANCHESTER TO MEEKVILLE JUNCTION CIRCUIT SEPARATION PROJECT BY THE CONNECTICUT LIGHT & POWER COMPANY VOLUME 1 of 11 OCTOBER 2008 Connecticut Siting Council Application for the Greater Springfield Reliability Project and the Manchester to Meekville Junction Circuit Separation Project Connecticut Siting Council Application Table of Contents Table of Contents VOLUME 1 I. APPLICATION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................ES-1 ES.1 The Greater Springfield Reliability Project and Manchester to Meekville Junction Circuit Separation Project: Public Need and Objectives ..........................................ES-1 ES.1.1 Improvements to the Electric System of Greater Springfield......................ES-2 ES.1.2 Contribution of the Greater Springfield Reliability Project and the Manchester to Meekville Junction Circuit Separation Project to the Overall New England East -West Solution .....................................................................................ES-4 ES.2 Overview of the Greater Springfield Reliability Project and the Manchester to Meekville Junction Circuit Separation Project.........................................................ES-5 ES.3 Proposed Location of the Greater Springfield Reliability Project and the Manchester to Meekville Junction Circuit Separation Project Facilities .........................................ES-5 ES.3.1 Locations of Facilities.................................................................................ES-5 ES.3.2 Overview of GSRP 345-kV Line Routes and Substation Facilities in Massachusetts and Connecticut...................................................................ES-6 ES.3.3 Description of Connecticut Segment of Proposed GSRP 345-kV Line Route and Substation .............................................................................................ES-7 ES.3.4 Overview of the Manchester to Meekville Junction Circuit Separation Project .....................................................................................................................ES-9 ES.4 Non-Transmission System Alternatives .................................................................ES-11 ES.5 Transmission Line Facility Alternatives.................................................................ES-11 ES.6 Routing Alternatives...............................................................................................ES-12 ES.6.1 Routing Alternatives for the 345-kV Line between the North Bloomfield Substation and the Connecticut/Massachusetts State Border ....................ES-12 ES.6.2 The Connecticut Portion of the Massachusetts Southern Route Alternative for a 345-kV Line between WMECO’s Agawam and Ludlow Substations ...ES-18 ES.7 Line Design............................................................................................................ES-21 ES.8 Coordination of Massachusetts and Connecticut Siting Approvals........................ES-21 ES.9 Environmental Effects............................................................................................ES-22 ES.9.1 Connecticut Portion of the North Bloomfield to Agawam 345-kV and MMP Line Routes................................................................................................ES-23 ES.9.2 Connecticut Portion of the Massachusetts Southern Route Alternative for the Agawam to Ludlow 345-kV Line..............................................................ES-28 ES.10 Cost.........................................................................................................................ES-31 ES.11 Schedule .................................................................................................................ES-31 A. PURPOSE................................................................................................... A-1 B. STATUTORY AUTHORITY ........................................................................ B-1 C. LEGAL NAME AND ADDRESS OF APPLICANT...................................... C-1 D. APPLICANT’S CONTACT.......................................................................... D-1 GSRP and MMP TOC-1 October 2008 Connecticut Siting Council Application Table of Contents E. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GSRP AND MMP..................................... E-1 E.1 Overview of the GSRP, Including the Preferred and Alternative Massachusetts Facilities .....................................................................................................................E-2 E.2 Connecticut Portion of the GSRP and MMP..............................................................E-5 E.2.1 GSRP Facilities .............................................................................................E-5 E.2.2 MMP Facilities..............................................................................................E-8 E.2.3 Modification of the 115-kV Ties at North Bloomfield................................E-11 E.3 Aerial Mapping.........................................................................................................E-11 F. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND NEED .................................................... F-1 F.1 Project Purpose and Overview ................................................................................... F-1 F.1.1 Background ................................................................................................... F-1 F.1.2 The SNETR Study......................................................................................... F-8 F.1.3 The NEEWS Plan........................................................................................ F-10 F.1.4 Documentation of the Need for the NEEWS Plan and the Greater Springfield Reliability Project........................................................................................ F-13 F.2 The New England Bulk-Power Supply System........................................................ F-15 F.3 Bulk-Power Supply in Southern New England ........................................................ F-19 F.4 The Existing Transmission System Serving Greater Springfield and Its Ties to North- Central Connecticut.................................................................................................. F-20 F.4.1 Greater Springfield and North-Central Connecticut Area Generation Facilities ..................................................................................................................... F-25 F.4.2 Summary of Reliability Deficiencies of the Greater Springfield 115-kV System and Their Impact on the Connecticut System................................. F-27 F.4.3 Objectives of the GSRP............................................................................... F-28 F.4.4 The Manchester to Meekville Junction Circuit Separation Project............. F-28 F.5 Description of Reliability Analysis .......................................................................... F-29 F.5.1 Initial and Updated Studies ......................................................................... F-29 F.5.2 Determination of Future Area Loads........................................................... F-29 F.5.3 Assumed Generator Availability ................................................................. F-31 F.5.4 Regional Power-Transfer Limits ................................................................. F-33 F.5.5 Modeling of Existing System with “All Lines In” ...................................... F-33 F.5.6 Contingency Analyses (N-1) and Results.................................................... F-33 F.5.7 Contingency Analyses (N-1-1) and Results ................................................ F-34 F.5.8 Power-Flow Analysis of the Transmission System as Improved By the GSRP Improvements.............................................................................................. F-35 F.5.9 Conclusion of Reliability Analysis.............................................................. F-35 F.6 Conformity of the Proposed Projects to a Long-Range Plan for Expansion of the Electric Power Grid .................................................................................................. F-36 F.7 Status of the Other NEEWS Projects ....................................................................... F-37 F.8 In-Service Date......................................................................................................... F-37 Appendix F-1: Load Forecast Data Appendix F-2: Pre-GSRP N-1 Contingency List Appendix F-3: Post-GSRP N-1 Contingency List GSRP and MMP TOC-2 October 2008 Connecticut Siting Council Application Table of Contents G. SYSTEM ALTERNATIVES .........................................................................G-1 G.1 Non-Transmission Alternatives................................................................................. G-2 G.1.1 No-Action Alternative.................................................................................. G-2 G.1.2 Resource Alternatives................................................................................... G-2 G.1.3 Background of ICF Resources LLC ............................................................. G-3 G.1.4 ICF’s Characterization of the Problems ....................................................... G-3 G.1.5