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Council pauses National Grid's Tall Tree Drive undergrounding petition after outage and outreach concerns
Summary
National Grid described conduit installation on Tall Tree Drive that will require a temporary outage; councilors pressed the utility for robust resident outreach and contingency plans and recessed the petition to Nov. 10 to allow more information.
National Grid representatives briefed the Beverly City Council on Oct. 20 about two separate undergrounding petitions and fielded questioning about service outages and customer outreach.
Ismael Miku, National Grid distribution designer, explained a Hale Street petition (to install a handhole and conduit to serve 293A Hale St.) and then presented the Tall Tree Drive plan: roughly 545 feet of conduit, two heavy-duty handholes, and a pad-mounted transformer connection intended to replace existing direct-buried cable. He said the work will improve resilience and ease future maintenance but will require short scheduled outages for affected customers.
When questioned about outage duration and resident impacts, Miku said the distribution work could require a power interruption lasting about 48 hours for some customers on Tall Tree Drive, with a job duration of two to three days in the field. Councillors and staff pressed National Grid about the number of affected households (Miku estimated 12' 15 houses on Tall Tree Drive) and about support for medically vulnerable customers. National Grid said it maintains a database of critical customers and can supply temporary generators to medically dependent residents; the company offered to notify residents by mail and agreed to add robocalls.
Council members expressed caution about approving the petition before the company provides a more robust mitigation and outreach plan. Several councillors referenced recent long-running utility projects (the 115kV transmission-line project) as reasons to be skeptical of optimistic timetables. Councilor comments suggested in-person contact, additional outreach, and clearer generator-support policies would be expected before approval.
Because there were no public speakers signed up for the hearing that night but to allow time for resident input and follow-up information from National Grid, the council recessed the Tall Tree Drive petition hearing to the Nov. 10 regular meeting (7:30 p.m.). The council asked National Grid to provide written details in advance of the reconvened hearing about the outage notification plan, the exact list of affected addresses, and arrangements for customers who rely on electricity for medical equipment.
The council emphasized it supports the broader effort to remove direct-buried distribution cable and improve reliability but wants to ensure affected residents receive clear, in-person notification and practical support before approving work that may require multi-day outages.
