PSEG Long Island completes construction of underground transmission line in Nassau County

PSEG Long Island built a 7.3-mile underground transmission line designed to increase the electric system’s reliability and resiliency in western Nassau County, N.Y.

The new Western Nassau Transmission Project was put into service in December 2020, meeting regulatory deadlines and coming in under budget. Transmission lines carry high-voltage electricity from power plants to substations, where transformers convert it to low-voltage power that can be sent out to neighborhoods via distribution.

“Western Nassau County had two major transmission lines connecting the substations in the area, which were sufficient when initially installed. However, populations have grown, electronic devices are essential to modern life, and energy grid redundancy standards have been adjusted accordingly,” Peggy Keane, vice president of Construction and Operations Services for PSEG Long Island, said. “The completion of the Western Nassau Transmission Project adds a third transmission line that provides additional delivery capacity to ensure customers in the area have safe, reliable power and offers additional protection if there is an electrical system impact. I want to thank our customers in Uniondale, West Hempstead, Garden City, Lynbrook, and Malverne for their patience, and I congratulate our team for successfully guiding this complex, vital project through every step of the process.”

The project was subject to extensive review by the state Public Service Commission. PSEG Long Island worked with stakeholders including local residents, village, town and county leaders, state legislators, and the New York State Departments of Public Service and Environmental Conservation to finalize a construction plan that would minimize impacts to neighborhoods, commercial districts, schools, wildlife, and more. Construction in December 2019, and the underground line was energized on Dec. 9, 2020.

PSEG Long Island’s investments in infrastructure and new maintenance procedures have improved system reliability by 26 percent since 2014.