Latest news with #WG&E
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Whip City Fiber schedules information for residents on Wednesday to learn about town-owned gigabit internet service
SOUTHWICK — Whip City Fiber is making its final pitch to the town's residents tonight, starting at 6:30 p.m., to support an article on the warrant for the upcoming Town Meeting that will ask voters to support a borrowing authorization to build out a town-owned fiber optic network. 'This meeting presents an important opportunity for Southwick residents to understand how a town-owned fiber network could improve connectivity throughout their community,' said Tom Flaherty, WG&E and Whip City Fiber general manager. 'We encourage all interested residents to attend and bring their questions.' This session aims to educate Southwick community members on how Whip City Fiber can support Southwick with premium high-speed internet service, according to a press release about the meeting. At Town Meeting next Tuesday, May 20, residents will be asked to vote up or down on Article 9, which, if approved, would give the green light for the town to borrow up to $16 million over five years to build out the fiber-optic networks. The town has been taking steps to have the authorization to build over the last several years with two affirmative votes by residents to create a Municipal Light Plant, which was required by the state to build the network. Once the MLP was approved, the Select Board established a High Speed Internet Committee to work out the cost of the project. When the committee first began looking at the dollar amount for the network, they considered going to Town Meeting over five consecutive years to request a borrowing authorization of about $5 million. However, given the town's experience with the funding Phase II of the sewer project, in which Town Meeting voted down a borrowing authorization after approving $600,000 for the systems engineering and design, the committee decided to seek the entire amount to build the network. The most vocal supporter of the network's construction was Select Board member Douglas Moglin, who chaired the committee. Since discussions began about building it, Moglin has stressed if the participation rate of 50% — those who sign up for the service — is reached, the receipts will generate enough income to pay off the borrowing. To make that happen, the business model has subscribers paying $89 per month for the service. If the network reaches a 50% take, or participation, rate — which would be 1,843 connections — annual revenues would be about $1.968 million. That would cover the anticipated annual expenses of $1.934 million and the network would operate at a surplus of about $34,000 annually. The full cost of the network is estimated at $18 million, but the town has already allocated $900,000 from American Rescue Plan Act funds, received $250,000 from a state grant, and had a $3 million authorization approved at Town Meeting in 2023. Whip City Fiber cable already touches Southwick in several areas, including on Tannery Road and Sunnyside Drive, and there is an installed but dormant fiber-optic line that runs along the length of the Southwick Rail Trail. Whip City representatives said those areas where the cable touches homes in Southwick will be able to sign up for the internet service almost immediately if the article passes. The town and Whip City Fiber held an informational meeting in March which over 130 residents attended. After representatives of subsidiary of WG&E finished their presentation, nearly every person in the Town Hall auditorium raised their hands when asked if they would support the borrowing authorization. For those unavailable to attend the meeting it will be available online. To join the Zoom meeting log into The meeting ID is 826 7858 6933, the passcode is 671280, To find your local number visit Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WG&E starts project to replace aging and leaky gas lines throughout city
WESTFIELD — Westfield Gas and Electric held a brief ceremony Monday to announce it has started a yearslong project to replace all of the city's cast iron leaky gas lines with nearly indestructible polypropylene plastic. 'It's safe for our customer and good for the environment,' said WG&E Assistant General Manager Joe Mitchell about the line replacement project. With some of the city's cast iron gas lines up to 80 years old, they prone to fracture and leak methane, WG&E was included in a federal grant program aimed to improve safety and reduce the emissions. In 2023, WG&E announced it was recipient of a $10 million grant, which has risen to $17 million, to fund the project as part of the Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Program, which was established by Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, and signed by former President Joe Biden. 'The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver results for the people of Massachusetts, and today's announcement is yet another step towards making much-needed improvement to our aging infrastructure,' said U.S. Rep. Richard Neal when announcing the grant. However, with the changing of administrations earlier this year, there was some concern that the grant would be rescinded. Mitchell said a portion of it was paused but because it had broad support on both sides of aisle in Congress, the pause was lifted. 'This program is on solid ground,' Mitchell said. While it's been two years since the grant was announced, Mitchell said supply chain issues pushed the start date back and complying with a portion of the Build America Buy America Act, which was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan. 'That was a challenge,' Mitchell said. On Monday, a crew from R.H. White Companies Inc. was at the home of Gerald and Nancy Tomasko on Apple Blossom Lane to officially start the project. The Auburn-based construction services company will do the work with WG&E as the general contractor, said WG&E Operations Superintendent Greg Freeman, who also explained the process of replacing the lines. On the road in front of the Tomasko's home, WG&E will dig a three-foot deep trench to change out the cast-iron line. Once the new line is in place, the crew will then dig a trench from the new line to where it connects with gas conduit at the Tomasko's home — the work will tear up a small portion of their lawn. He said each customer's natural gas service will disconnected for only a few minutes during the installation. Freeman said once the connection is complete the disturbed area will be covered with loam and reseeded. And that process will continue over the next four years to replace 1,200 low-pressure services to businesses and residences, When plans for the project were being developed, it was believed that it would take 10 years, but it was moved up to four years. Mitchell said the replacement project will cover 22 miles of line, and at no cost to the utility's ratepayers. 'Because it's a grant, the cost will not fall on our ratepayers,' he said, adding that he's asking for city residents for their 'patience' during construction. Freeman said the gas line installation will start in April or May and continue through November or December as conditions allow. After the crew completes the replacements in the Apple Blossom neighborhood, it will move onto the neighborhoods of Colony Circle, Birch Bluffs Drive, the west side of Southwick Road and Hillside Road. Read the original article on MassLive.
