HEATH — National Grid wants to replace poles and upgrade power lines in Heath and Charlemont, but many local residents don’t seem interested. 

During an almost two-hour public information session at the Heath Select Board meeting on Tuesday, residents voiced their concerns on the aesthetic impacts of the new poles, cost of installation, and impact on property values.

National Grid representatives said that, if the board gave their stamp of approval, the company would be replacing 35-foot-tall poles with 45-foot-tall poles across a 10-mile stretch along various roads from Heath Center to Charlemont, as well as adding 14 new poles along Burrington Road.

Installing the poles will allow the company to upgrade the structures and improve the reliability of the system.

“The purpose of this project is to address the poor performance of a regional feeder that provides power to both the towns of Charlemont and Heath,” said Senior Stakeholder Specialist Jean Charles. “This feeder, over the past couple of years, has been in the bottom 5% of the worst performing feeders in National Grid’s system … The purpose of this project is reliability, it’s safety, and most importantly having all of those things done at the lowest cost possible.”

Project Manager Patrick Shea said the state Department of Public Utilities has identified the feeder as a problem that leaves customers susceptible to power outages, and will penalize the company if it is not addressed. Over the past five years, 20 outages occurred.

Installing a three-phase feeder will allow National Grid to shut off power to certain areas, and connect to other regions, so if power goes out the company can more quickly and easily switch to another line and restore power.

Charles said that had the area already had three-phase lines half of the outages that occurred in the past few years would not have happened. 

After a brief presentation from National Grid, selectboard members, and representatives from the towns’ other various boards and committees and members of the public still had questions, and grilled the company on everything from their timeline and how vegetation will be removed to how many trees will need to be cut to install the new poles. 

National Grid hopes to have all necessary permitting complete by September and begin construction later that month, or in early October. All the new poles should be in in place by May 2025, however work may not be finished until much later as National Grid will not be responsible for removing the old poles. 

Senior Corporate Affairs Manager Robert Ide said the utility companies use a shared communications system to put in work orders and pass projects along. Once National Grid erects the new pole and moves their equipment over, the ticket will be sent along to the next company to move their equipment over, and so on and so forth until it reaches Verizon. After moving its equipment to the new pole Verizon will be responsible for removing the old poles.

Charles, of National Grid, said that the majority of vegetation management will be canopy trimming, which will be done by hand, and very few trees will need to be taken down. 

Heath Highway Superintendent and defacto tree warden Jeffrey Johnston said based on his discussions with the company and their review of the route, only a small handful, maybe four or five trees would need to be removed. And with a limited tree removal budget, he would appreciate any help the company was offering to remove troublesome trees that may impede roads. 

The primary concerns raised by meeting attendees were the proposed height of the poles and the financial implications for the town. 

Heath is a small, rural town, with a rustic charm its residents adore and do not wish to see changed, residents expressed at the meeting.  

“This is clearly going to effect the rural character of the town,” said Doug Mason, Planning Board chair. 

Shea, the project manager, said the poles needed to be 45 feet tall for safety reasons, and to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Workers need enough clearance in order to do work on equipment. 

Burrington Road resident Wanda Mooney said National Grid should consider subsurface wire solutions, citing the “ugly industrial poles” would have a negative impact on the property values for her and her neighbors homes.

Ide said National Grid is obligated to go with the least expensive solution, and that solution is replacing poles. To put wires underground would require a significant amount of infrastructure to be installed, and would take years to complete. 

Sheila Litchfield, Heath’s Municipal Light Board manager said National Grid needs to provide more details on what poles, how many and where they are being removed so the board can properly plan and budget to move its broadband equipment to the new poles. Litchfield said she could not estimate properly without more information, but the project could cost the town as much as $25,000. 

The announcement from National Grid came as a bit of shock to the MLP as the town replaced and installed several new poles only a few years ago and the town is still paying for it, according to Litchfield. 

Shea said he was unsure why 35-feet-tall poles were selected, and what OSHA regulations required at the time, but now the standard is for 45-foot poles, so that is what the company plans to install. 

“We’re counting every penny,” Litchfield said. “The concept of having to replace poles we think are still fairly new is a little hard to swallow.”

Throughout the meeting National Grid representatives repeatedly stated that the upgrade was necessary, and the most cost-effective solution, however, the installation of the new poles is not set in stone. Before construction can begin the company will need approval from the selectboard, which will host pole hearings in order to receive more information and public input. 

Heath’s Selectboard Chair Robyn Provost-Carlson said, “We have a big decision to make.”

National Grid said as details are worked out, more information will be available on its website nationalgridus.com/construction-projects 

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or at mschofield@recorder.com.