Eversource backs off from putting power line through scenic vista

LACONIA — Electric utility Eversource, bowing to public pressure, has decided to route an upgraded power line away from a scenic vista on Parade Road (Route 106).

Laconia City Councilor Bruce Cheeney said Wednesday that a Eversource representative had called him Tuesday to inform him of the utility's decision.

Eversource had planned to run the line through a piece of the Prescott State Forest rather than along Old Parade Road where the existing line now runs and where utility lines are shielded from public view.

“After listening to and carefully considering feedback from property owners, residents and local officials, we made changes to our plan to address that important local input,” Eversource spokesman Kaitlyn Woods said in an emailed statement.

The new stretch of line is a small part of a new 4-mile-long power line which runs along Roller Coaster Road, then down Parade Road as far as Windermere Heights. The new line, which requires poles that are 10 feet taller than the existing line, is designed to improve reliability and to reduce the length of power outages, according to the utility.

But neighbors pressed to have the upgraded line built along Old Parade Road where the power lines run now, rather than through an open field were power lines would be more conspicuous.

Eversource representatives met with neighbors along with Cheeney, and state Rep. Peter Spanos two weeks ago at which time the objections to the proposed route of the line were discussed.

Woods said work on the line on Old Parade Road would begin once the utility receives all the necessary approvals from property owners, the city of Laconia, and the state Department of Transportation. The 50-foot poles which were installed last month along Route 106 will be removed when the work on the Old Parade Road line begins, Woods said.