Propel NY Energy Team Hosts Community Webinar for New Rochelle

The Propel NY Energy electric transmission project team recently hosted a virtual webinar to share updates with the New Rochelle community and answer questions from residents. Subjects covered included: nature of the project, how it impacts the New Rochelle area, community outreach, and municipality involvement.

Propel NY Energy, which is currently in its permitting phase, is a 90-mile underground and submarine transmission project designed to strengthen the reliability and resiliency of New York’s electric grid and create new pathways for energy delivery through system improvements across parts of Long Island, New York City, and Westchester County.

Approximately 3 miles of the 90-mile project are located underground in New Rochelle.

Working with City leaders to minimize impacts

Starting in early 2024, the project team began extensive outreach to local stakeholders on the proposed routing. Meaningful feedback was provided from municipal leaders, stimulating reviews of alternative routing to improve project outcomes. This included some route shifts and reimagining an above-ground transition station originally proposed on utility-owned property off Echo Avenue.

After over a year of technical engineering and design and continual local engagement, the project team identified alternative options that directly responded to this input, including an innovative approach to replace the above-ground station with underground equipment in the Hudson Park and Beach parking lot.

These new project configurations meet technical requirements while minimizing impact and showcasing the project team’s commitment to listening to local feedback. The project remains under evaluation through the State permitting process with an anticipated mid-2026 construction start.

Some key New Rochelle project facts:

• The revised routing avoids green space and maintains access to Hudson Park and Beach during the limited winter construction windows.
• The revised routing is all underground with no above-ground structure.
• Any area temporarily disturbed by construction will be fully restored to prior or better condition.
• The team is committed to ongoing communication and engagement with the community for mutually successful outcomes.

Local engagement is a priority

Working with local communities is foundational to the project. To date, the team has:

• Hosted 6 open houses across New Rochelle and Westchester County
• Engaged more than 1,100 property owners in New Rochelle through multiple rounds of direct mailers
• Participated in 4 community tabling events in New Rochelle
• Reached out to 140 local Businesses in New Rochelle
• Recorded more than 500 touchpoints with more than 600 stakeholders countywide.

The project has gained broad support from labor, business, and environmental groups who recognize the importance of this project for New York’s future.

The Propel team will be hosting its next quarterly webinar on Dec. 10 at Noon. Stay tuned for registration and additional information.

For more information, including New Rochelle project maps, fact sheets, and more, visit www.propelnyenergy.com.