State OKs New Underground Transmission Line From Nanuet To West Nyack

CLARKSTOWN, NY — The state Public Service Commission has approved O&R's request to put in a new underground transmission line from Nanuet to West Nyack.

According to the joint proposal, the new power line is needed to relieve potential overloading of O&R’s existing overhead line between its Burns and Oak Street substations. Recent summer studies indicate that the power flow on the existing line will exceed its capacity if an outage occurs on another 138 kV line serving the region, PSC officials said.

Additional anticipated loads from proposed data centers in the Orangetown area will increase the potential for overloading under the same contingency, PSC officials said. Should such overloads occur, load transfers to adjacent substations will be needed and, if the overloading persists, load shedding will occur to prevent damage to the existing conductors.

Once completed, the project will immediately alleviate loads on the existing line, improving the regional transmission network’s overall resiliency and power source reliability to southern Rockland County, while using existing rights of way and without visual impacts, PSC officials said.

“This new transmission project is good news for the region and its customers,” Commission Chair Rory M. Christian said in the announcement. “It will help improve reliability and reduce the chances of power outages due to an over-stressed electric grid.”

O&R focused on selecting a proposed route which would have the least effect on the environment, and opted for underground instead of an overhead route, which would have necessitated significant tree clearing and potential impacts to sensitive habitats, company officials said in their FAQ on the project.

The $57.8 million project is primarily within the public roadway rights-of-way, for roughly 5.5 miles in Clarkstown.

The route begins at the Burns Substation at 71 N. Pascack Road in Nanuet and runs east along the substation access road until it meets the intersection with N. Pascack Road. At this intersection, the proposed route turns south and runs along N. Pascack Road until the intersection of Smith Road. The proposed route turns east at this intersection, running along the entirety of Smith Road until it meets with N. Middletown Road. At this intersection, the proposed route turns south and runs along N. Middletown Road, passing beneath New York State Thruway (I87/287) via an underpass, until the intersection of State Route 59. The proposed route turns southeast along State Route 59 for approximately 250 feet, crossing under Nauraushaun Brook Branch and diverts from State Route 59 in an easterly direction to join with the dead end of West Nyack Road.

It then runs east following W. Nyack Road, passing beneath the Palisades Interstate Parkway via an underpass, for approximately 2.4 miles until it meets the intersection with Western Highway N. At this intersection, the proposed route turns south and runs along Western Highway N. for approximately 475 feet until it has passed through the State Route 59 underpass. The proposed route turns east after this underpass, crossing beneath the CSX Transportation railroad tracks before terminating at the West Nyack Substation located at 209 State Route 59 in West Nyack, New York.

The PSC adopted the joint proposal signed by Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., trial staff of the New York State Department of Public Service, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Department of Transportation, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the County of Rockland and the Town of Clarkstown.

Two hearings were held in 2022 in New City to receive public comment. No party challenged the joint proposal or the project. The five public comments received primarily indicated interest in minimizing temporary construction impacts, PSC officials said.