Rhode Island Energy outlines $60 million transmission upgrade serving Aquidneck Island

Rhode Island Energy told the Portsmouth Town Council on Sept. 9 that it will replace aging wooden transmission structures with steel and new conductors on two 115‑kilovolt lines that feed Aquidneck Island and nearby communities.

Jacques Afonso, Rhode Island Energy external affairs manager and liaison to Portsmouth, said the project is an ‘‘asset replacement’’ aimed at improving reliability rather than increasing voltage. ‘‘This is solely, an asset replacement, structure replacement, and conductor replacement project,’’ Afonso said during a presentation to the council.

Afonso described the work as two components: a Tiverton tap of roughly 2 miles that will replace about 58 structures, and a main‑line upgrade of about 7.5 miles replacing roughly 186 structures. He said the two lines together serve about 47,000 customers across Tiverton, Little Compton, Aquidneck Island and Jamestown and that average new‑structure height will be about 92 feet, with the tallest near the Second River crossing at roughly 134 feet.

The company plans to begin work on the Tiverton tap later in September and continue into spring; main‑line construction is contingent on permitting and is expected to begin at the end of the year and continue into 2026 if approvals proceed on schedule. Afonso said standard erosion‑and‑sediment controls are in place and that contractors will receive environmental training and an environmental monitor will oversee compliance.

Council members and residents asked whether the work would cause outages and whether bills would rise. Afonso said crews will take one line out while work proceeds on that line but that customers should not see outages related to the project. He also said the project itself ‘‘will not increase customer bills’’ and described the transmission‑line replacement as a $60,000,000 project; he contrasted it with a prior Aquidneck Island Reliability Project, which he recalled at about $92,000,000.

Afonso said towers will be delivered in sections and assembled on site rather than transported as full 90‑foot pieces, and that construction would generally occur during normal weekday business hours but may occasionally include weekend work. Rhode Island Energy held two open houses earlier in the year as part of outreach; Afonso reported about 105 contacts on the Tiverton side and about 67 on the Portsmouth side and said a dedicated stakeholder management team and project website are available for questions.

The Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) will hold a public comment session on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at Portsmouth Town Hall as part of a 90‑day notice for the existing‑line replacement. Afonso urged interested residents to attend if they want to comment on the permitting record. The council did not take any formal action on the presentation.