Lighting Plant Seeks $70M Borrowing for Major Reliability Upgrade

HINGHAM — The Select Board unanimously recommended favorable action on a town meeting warrant article to borrow up to $70 million to expand the Municipal Lighting Plant, a project that Tom Morahan, general manager of the plant, said would bring Hingham up to current reliability standards without significantly affecting rates. The debt would be repaid entirely with revenue generated by the plant, not revenue from taxes.

The plant only runs two transmission lines transporting electricity into town, and both are attached to the same towers at multiple points. Morahan said that severe weather or a train derailment could damage both lines at once, which could cause a total electricity outage across town for several days. The plant wants to borrow $70 million for its Reliability Project, which would involve building a new underground transmission line and substation.

The total project cost is projected to be $100 million to $110 million, according to the project’s website.

The article requires a two-thirds majority at town meeting to pass. 

To illustrate the reliability risks posed by Hingham’s current electricity infrastructure, Morahan mentioned that the town suffered a 24-hour blackout in 1989 after a switch failure in East Weymouth shut off both lines.

“We have not had any large outages since, but there are times throughout the year where we end up on one line because Eversource has a line out or National Grid has a line out,” Morahan said. “If anything happens to that line, we're flat.”

The project would also require a new station in Weymouth, which private energy provider Eversource Energy would own and operate, though Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant (HMLP) will reimburse Eversource for construction costs over a period of 40 years. It will cost an estimated $40 million, and HMLP already increased electricity rates to help pay for it. That cost is not included in the $70 million that might be borrowed.

HMLP estimates that permitting for the project will be complete by summer or fall of 2026 and that construction can begin in 2026 or 2027 if the article passes.

The new underground line would run through Weymouth, along High and French streets, and end at the new substation, which would be part of the transfer station facility at Hobart Street. The two existing lines run from East Weymouth to Hobart Street.

Morahan said that the new line could accommodate increased electricity demand in the future and mentioned that future demand could be driven by the “Electrify Hingham” project, launched by HMLP in 2022 to encourage electricity use instead of fossil fuels.

HMLP plans to host an open house before the vote at town meeting to field questions about the project.

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