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107 Selden St., Berlin, Connecticut 06037



News Release

CL&P Resumes Installing New Transmission Lines
With Helicopter

Work Strengthens Transmission Network Reliability



BERLIN, Conn. (January 14, 2015) – Connecticut Light & Power will resume using a helicopter flying more than 80 feet above ground to pull lines through new transmission structures in the Windham area next week. The helicopter drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to install transmission lines and reduces disturbances to environmentally sensitive areas.

“Using the helicopter for this work reduces the amount of time needed to complete the wire-stringing process from days to hours, compared to conventional methods,” said Dwayne Basler, Vice President of Transmission Projects, Engineering & Maintenance for Northeast Utilities, parent company of CL&P. “This work is part of our Interstate Reliability Project, CL&P’s significant transmission upgrade, which expands customer access to clean power sources and continues to improve transmission system reliability in the region.”

The latest phase of helicopter flights will occur intermittently throughout early- 2015 in the towns of Hampton and Brooklyn. Additional phases of this aerial work will be completed in Brooklyn, Pomfret, Killingly, Putnam and Thompson in the spring.

Work on the Interstate Reliability Project began in 2013 and includes the construction of a new overhead 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line on 37 miles of existing right-of-way from Lebanon, Connecticut, to the Rhode Island border in Thompson. This project will be completed in late 2015.

The Interstate Reliability Project is part of a group of transmission projects called the New England East-West Solution (NEEWS). NEEWS is designed to improve the delivery of electricity across Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Once complete, the new lines will provide the region’s electricity customers with the infrastructure that is critical to a healthy economy.

For additional information on the Interstate Reliability Project, including weekly construction updates, please visit www.NEEWSprojects.com, or call 1-866-99NEEWS (1-866-996-3397).



Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P), a Northeast Utilities company (NYSE: NU), transmits and delivers electricity to 1.2 million customers in 149 cities and towns.  For more information, please visit www.cl-p.com, like us on Facebook (facebook.com/CTLightandPower) and follow us on Twitter @CTLightandPower.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Frank Poirot
(860) 665-3409
frank.poirot@nu.com



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