City Council - City Services & Innovation Technology Committee Hearing on Docket #1447

Meeting Date: December 01, 2025 at 02:00 PM Governing Body: Boston City Council Type of Meeting: Committee Hearing Attendees:

• Councilors: Enrique Pepén (Chair), Gabriela Coletta Zapata (Sponsor), Edward Flynn, John Fitzgerald, Liz Breadon, Brian Worrell
• City Staff: Eddie Hesford (Chief Engineer, City of Boston Transportation Department), Jamie Clemente (Supervisor of Construction Inspection Unit, Public Works Department), Matt Carney (Deputy Chief, Boston Office of Emergency Management), Todd Lyming (Chief Engineer, Public Improvement Commission)
• Utility Representatives: Mike Fitzgerald (Eversource Community Relations), John Salm (Eversource Construction Management), Pooja Shah (Director of Engineering, Eversource Boston & Metro Boston), Joe Carroll (National Grid Gas Company), Ellen Cummings (Verizon State Government Affairs, Massachusetts)
• Public Commenters: Amanda Zettel (Charlestown Preservation Society), Shannon Felton Spence (Charlestown Resident), Nora Blake (Charlestown Resident)

Executive Summary: The City Services & Innovation Technology Committee convened to discuss Docket #1447, an order for a hearing on electrical equipment maintenance and utility safety, sponsored by Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata. The hearing was prompted by a July 29, 2025 incident in Charlestown where overhead electrical wires ignited during extreme heat, causing property damage and power outages. Key discussions revolved around the aging electrical infrastructure, the impact of extreme weather, current inspection and maintenance practices, emergency notification systems, and the feasibility and cost of undergrounding electrical wires. Public testimony highlighted safety concerns and inequities in infrastructure, while utility companies provided insights into their operations, maintenance schedules, and the complexities and costs associated with undergrounding.

• Councilor Enrique Pepén (Chair):
  • Opened the hearing at 2:07 p.m.
  • Noted the hearing is being recorded and live-streamed.
  • Informed attendees about submitting written comments to ccc.csit@boston.gov.
  • Announced public testimony would be taken at the end, with a two-minute limit per speaker.
  • Acknowledged the presence of Councilors Edward Flynn and Gabriela Coletta Zapata.
  • Thanked Councilor Coletta Zapata for sponsoring the docket and panelists for their participation.
• Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata (Sponsor):
  • Thanked colleagues, residents, and panelists.
  • Described the July 29, 2025 incident near Bartlett Street in Charlestown, where overhead electrical wires ignited, dropping sparks, damaging property, and causing outages.
  • Highlighted themes emerging from resident feedback: lack of timely communication, uncertainty about root cause, confusion during outage, and vulnerability to future events.
  • Stated the hearing's purpose: to understand aging electrical infrastructure, extreme weather impacts, adequacy of inspection/maintenance, emergency notification, and multi-agency response.
  • Noted concerns about infrastructure not being upgraded to handle increased usage in converted triple-deckers.
  • Outlined the order of testimony: community, then Public Works, Public Improvement Commission, Transportation Department, Office of Emergency Management, and finally utility companies (Eversource, National Grid, Verizon).
  • Emphasized the importance of public safety and exploring long-term solutions like undergrounding electrical wires, including existing landscape, feasibility, and cost.
• Councilor Edward Flynn:
  • Stressed the importance of the hearing for learning about the issue and resident notification during emergencies.
  • Highlighted communication as a critical aspect of city government, referencing a similar situation in the South End with a broken elevator in a BHA development where residents were not notified.

• Amanda Zettel, President, Charlestown Preservation Society:
  • Stated Charlestown faces a serious and preventable safety and equity challenge due to aging above-ground electrical infrastructure in its historic, wood-framed neighborhood.
  • Cited the July 29, 2025 incident as evidence that overhead lines are an escalating fire and public safety risk, especially with extreme heat and climate stress.
  • Argued the burden of this risk is inequitable, with older wood-frame houses having the highest concentration of overhead wiring, while better-resourced areas have undergrounding.
  • Proposed leveraging Encore Boston Harbor's surrounding community agreement and the Charlestown Community Impact Fund for infrastructure improvements.
  • Advocated for coordinating undergrounding efforts with the Boston Water and Sewer Commission's planned excavation, backfilling, and repaving of streets from Spring 2026 to Fall 2028.
  • Key Ask: Support dedicating a portion of Charlestown's Encore-related mitigation and community impact funds to a 0.453-mile underground utility pilot project.
  • Estimated budget for the 0.453-mile segment: $906,000 to $2.7 million.
  • Suggested installing extra vacant underground conduit for telecommunications to reduce future disruption and visual clutter.
• Shannon Felton Spence, Charlestown Resident (19 Russell Street):
  • Thanked Councilors for their leadership and for calling the hearing.
  • Expressed concern that momentum has stalled since the July incident, while dangerous incidents have increased.
  • Documented three recent failures since August:
    • A burned, overloaded wire fell on Russell Street, inches from front doors.
    • A fully downed wire with a telecommunications splice hung on Sullivan Street.
    • A child was electrically shocked on Walker Street near Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Warren Prescott Preschool.
  • Emphasized Charlestown's density, historic wood-framed homes, and highest share of young children in the city.
  • Stated that utility companies cite cost and coordination as barriers to undergrounding, which she believes City Hall leadership can address.
  • Argued that mitigation is a "band-aid" and Charlestown needs a phased, long-term plan for undergrounding.
  • Key Ask: Reestablish a formal, time-bound coordination process led by the City Council, requiring Eversource, Verizon, Comcast, RCN Astound, and the administration to produce a public timeline for immediate risk mitigation and undergrounding assessment.
  • Quoted: "Boston buried a freeway. We can bury a couple miles of utility lines."
• Nora Blake, Charlestown Resident:
  • Presented pictures of the July 2025 fire and car on fire.
  • Thanked the fire department but noted it took over 30 minutes for Eversource to arrive, during which the fire department could not safely fight the fire due to energized lines.
  • Described the personal impact of the outage during her stage four ovarian cancer treatment, highlighting the vulnerability of medically fragile residents.
  • Emphasized the risk in Charlestown's densely settled, wood-framed neighborhood, where a single spark can lead to catastrophe.
  • Expressed concern about the increasing danger with more electric vehicles (EVs) and lithium-ion battery cars like Teslas.
  • Submitted written testimony.

• Panelists: Eddie Hesford (City of Boston Transportation Department), Jamie Clemente (Public Works Department), Matt Carney (Boston Office of Emergency Management), Todd Lyming (Public Improvement Commission).
• Councilor Coletta Zapata's Questions:
  • Todd Lyming (Public Improvement Commission - PIC):
    • Role: PIC acts as landlord/manager of public rights-of-way, including infrastructure. Reviews utility company requests for new infrastructure (underground or above-ground). Issues "grant of location" (license) for specific utility infrastructure placement.
    • PIC's Scope: Reviews location, not appropriateness or viability of infrastructure. Relies on utility companies and the state's Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for infrastructure type and need.
    • Tracking Outages: PIC does not track repeated outages or equipment degradation.
    • Undergrounding: No set "underground neighborhoods," but rather roadway corridors (e.g., American Legion Highway). Challenges include cost, finding space in narrow, older streets (like Charlestown), and cost to abutters. Abutters may bear costs for connecting their homes to underground lines, potentially requiring coring through basements.
  • Jamie Clemente (Public Works Department - PWD):
    • PWD does not track repeated outages or equipment degradation.
  • Eddie Hesford (City of Boston Transportation Department - BTD):
    • Role: Reviews utility plans for construction management, phasing, and traffic impact. Writes traffic approvals. Works closely with PWD for permitting and enforcement.
    • Undergrounding Experience: Major transmission projects (e.g., American Legion Highway) involved undergrounding. These are work-intensive, specialized, and often involve ISO New England oversight and mitigation for roadway reconstruction.
    • Coordination: BTD works with utilities on capital plans to sequence work and minimize disruption.
  • Jamie Clemente (PWD):
    • Role: Manages a team of 8 inspectors (4 in winter) who ensure compliance with permits, traffic management plans, site cleanliness, accessibility, and post-work site conditions.
    • Quality of Life Impact: Acknowledged the intensive nature of the work and its impact on residents' daily lives, emphasizing efforts to minimize disruption around schools and ensure accessibility.
    • Proactive Coordination: PWD oversees COBOX (City of Boston Utility Coordination System) to identify overlapping projects and coordinate trenching. PIC has a "city shadow policy" to require telecommunication companies to install vacant conduits.
• Councilor Flynn's Questions:
  • Matt Carney (Office of Emergency Management - OEM):
    • July 29 Incident: OEM was likely not on scene for the Charlestown incident, as it typically responds to broader outages or incidents requiring mass care services/sheltering.
    • OEM's Role: Coordinates with utility companies for broader outages (estimated restoration times, emergency shelters, cooling centers). Responds when impacts are broad enough to necessitate mass care or temporary sheltering, usually triggered by fire department notification.
    • 24/7 Operations: OEM is 24/7, but incidents like a single downed wire don't always trigger their direct response unless escalated by public safety partners.
    • Lessons Learned: BTD and PWD have engaged Eversource on communication protocols. An online emergency notification system has been developed for utility companies to input incident information, which then triggers an email blast to city departments. This was partly in response to the Charlestown incident.
• Councilor Fitzgerald's Questions:
  • Todd Lyming (PIC):
    • Undergrounding Authority: The city has authority to allow undergrounding, but challenges include cost, space, and continuous street disruption.
    • Double Poles: In theory, double poles are temporary, allowing utilities to transfer lines from old to new poles. The process can take time due to multiple attachments and prioritization.
• Councilor Breadon's Questions:
  • Todd Lyming (PIC):
    • Homeowner Costs: Homeowners may bear costs for connecting their homes to underground lines, potentially requiring coring through basements. The exact cost split is handled by utility companies.
  • Eddie Hesford (BTD):
    • Lake Street Project (Brighton): Expected to be finished sometime next year. Involved multiple utilities (National Grid, Water and Sewer, MWRA, Eversource) and has been ongoing since 2020. The intention is to go the whole way down to Washington Street for restoration.

• Panelists: Mike Fitzgerald (Eversource), John Salm (Eversource), Pooja Shah (Eversource), Joe Carroll (National Grid), Ellen Cummings (Verizon).
• Councilor Coletta Zapata's Questions:
  • Eversource (Mike Fitzgerald, John Salm, Pooja Shah):
    • July 29 Incident: The initial call came in as an FPS3 (Fire Police Standby, lowest tier for partially blocked road), not an FPS2 (fully blocked road) or FPS1 (imminent threat to life). If classified correctly, Eversource could have remotely de-energized the area sooner.
    • Response: Crew was late due to traffic. After the incident, transformers were upgraded out of caution. Walkthroughs with community members were conducted.
    • Training: Eversource is now conducting in-person and online trainings with Boston Fire Dispatch to prevent misclassification of FPS calls.
    • Maintenance Schedule:
      • Poles: Inspected every 5 years by a third party.
      • Switches: Inspected annually.
      • Secondary lines: Inspected when work is in the area, no set schedule.
    • Cause of July 29 Incident: A rubber covering on the wire, for protection during work, likely kept heat in and melted insulation. A fuse should have blown, but there wasn't enough fault current.
    • Undergrounding Decision: Based on reliability and resiliency. Historically, downtown Boston and parts of Cambridge have underground systems (legacy network). If a municipality desires undergrounding, they typically bear the cost. Individual customers bear the cost of connecting their homes to the underground system (drilling basements, new metering).
    • Cost of Undergrounding: Estimates from 2023 ranged from $2 million to $6 million per mile, likely higher now due to inflation and Charlestown's urban residential complexity. This does not include customer connection costs. Requires installing larger conduits for future load, new underground switches (approx. $100,000 each), and underground transformers.
    • Upcoming Projects: Project engagement team meeting with Charlestown community tomorrow night to discuss upcoming projects.
    • DPU Relationship: Regulatory affairs team works closely with DPU.
  • National Grid (Joe Carroll):
    • Maintenance Schedule (Gas):
      • Surveys: 3-year cycle (ride mains year 1, walk services/mains year 2, survey again year 3).
      • Inside Gas Inspection: Letters sent to coordinate basement access.
      • Gas Meters: Changed every 7 years, with inspections at that time.
      • Excavation: Crews assess pipe condition and integrity.
    • Undergrounding Impact: Charlestown has gas mains in most streets. Undergrounding electrical could lead to conflicts with gas lines, requiring relocation or replacement of pipes. Coordination with water/sewer is crucial due to "encroachment" laws.
    • DPU Relationship: Regulatory team is in routine contact. Dispatch notifies DPU of emergencies 24/7. DPU is invited to trainings and conducts inspections.
  • Verizon (Ellen Cummings):
    • Maintenance Schedule:
      • Regular safety managers and work inspectors are proactive and reactive.
      • Staff perform safety checks upon reaching facilities.
      • Third-party vendors inspect poles in municipalities for safety, upgrades, and insect infestation.
    • Safety: Verizon's facilities are not high voltage or fire hazards.
    • Wireless Network: Invested $600 million in Boston for fiber (Fios, data transmission, cable TV, 5G wireless). Wireless reduces reliance on wired lines but still requires fiber infrastructure.
    • Undergrounding Impact: Very complex. Verizon is usually last to go underground. Space is a major issue in narrow streets.
    • Cost of Undergrounding: Approximately $300 per linear foot for conduit alone, not including permits, additional manholes, engineering costs, or excavation. 100 feet of conduit could cost $300,000-$400,000.
    • DPU Relationship: Primarily deals with the Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC), not DPU.
• Councilor Flynn's Questions:
  • Eversource (John Salm, Pooja Shah):
    • Extreme Heat: A rubber covering on the wire likely contributed to the July 29 incident by trapping heat.
    • Future Incidents: While rare, similar situations could happen. Eversource prepares for heat waves like winter storms.
    • Monitoring: Uses infrared inspection of equipment yearly to identify overheated areas.
    • Technology: Implementing a DPU-mandated distribution management system for visibility down to low-voltage wires and an Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to proactively identify overheated/overloaded areas.
  • Verizon (Ellen Cummings):
    • OEM Training: Verizon does not provide direct training to OEM but is available for questions. Provides a 24/7 critical response line for emergency services.
• Councilor Fitzgerald's Questions:
  • Eversource (John Salm, Pooja Shah):
    • Rarity of Incident: The July 29 incident was a first in 20 years for John Salm.
    • Wireless Delivery: Currently, electricity delivery is either overhead or underground. Wireless delivery is not feasible for electricity. Microgrids could be an option for standalone generation but still require connections. Safety is paramount regardless of delivery method.
  • Verizon (Ellen Cummings):
    • Wireless Delivery: Verizon's wireless network relies on fiber infrastructure, which is above ground.

• Joe Carroll (National Grid): Emphasized safety, coordination with city departments, and adapting to changing energy needs.
• Eversource (Mike Fitzgerald, Pooja Shah): Reiterated commitment to safety, acknowledged the July 29 incident as unfortunate, and committed to providing requested information on undergrounding costs and historical context.
• Councilor Enrique Pepén: Thanked all participants for their work and contributions.
• Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata: Thanked utility companies for their responsiveness, expressed frustration with DPU's lack of response, and reiterated the need for specific dollar amounts for undergrounding from Eversource and historical context for downtown Boston's undergrounding. Stressed the importance of broad community buy-in for any significant infrastructure changes due to potential quality of life and financial impacts.

Meeting Adjourned.