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Commission deadlocks on BPU easement/condemnation request after split votes; project temporarily delayed
Summary
A Board of Public Utilities request to authorize condemnation proceedings for an easement needed to loop power and install water lines generated contentious debate. Commissioners split in recorded roll calls; the transcript records procedural ambiguity and no final approval, leaving the utility project unresolved and staff saying the matter can return after further action.
The commission received a request April 16 from the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to authorize condemnation proceedings to secure a temporary construction easement and a permanent easement for underground conduits and pole installations needed to improve reliability for an east‑of‑the‑river service area.
Deputy counsel explained the statutory process for eminent domain and why the Unified Government, not the BPU board, must authorize any condemnation action. BPU engineers and managers described repeated negotiations with the commercial property owner and the operational need to create a loop in the distribution system so that customers on the James Street corridor are not stranded when a circuit fails. Philip Brown, BPU…
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