Friday, October 23, 2026
Representatives from New York Transco, the New York Power Authority, and community engagement specialists provided key updates on the Propel NY Energy project in a June 25 webinar.
The webinar for Propel’s multi-year effort to bolster Long Island’s energy transmission network, highlighted alternative route developments, permitting milestones, and anticipated construction timelines.
The 345-kilovolt underground and submarine transmission project, stretching across Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, is designed to increase the state’s grid capacity, strengthen system reliability, and reduce regional congestion. While still in the permitting phase under the New York State Article VII review process, project leaders said they are making steady progress toward a targeted construction start in mid-2026.
Shannon Baxevanis, community engagement manager for Transco, emphasized that several new viable alternative routes have been introduced in direct response to public feedback, technical surveys, and environmental reviews.
“These are not finalized paths, but meaningful modifications that reflect local concerns,” Baxevanis said. “They represent the continued evolution of this project to meet both infrastructure needs and community priorities.”
Among the most closely watched segments is Long Beach Road in Oceanside, identified as part of the preferred transmission corridor. During the Q&A session, residents raised concerns about potential disruption to emergency vehicle access and seasonal traffic to area beaches.
“Long Beach Road, we understand is one of the main door fairs in the area,” said Sam Johnson, NY Transco Senior Project Manager. “We’re very sensitive to that. From a coordination perspective with first responders, that is a huge portion of our work, and ensuring that roads are always maintained and open.”
The project remains in the midst of the Article VII review, which includes detailed engineering, environmental, and constructability evaluations. Transco filed its Article VII application in July 2024. The application spans over 6,000 pages and includes technical exhibits, mapping, and route justifications.
The next major regulatory milestone is securing a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need—a determination by the Public Service Commission that the project meets all legal and environmental standards. That certificate is expected sometime in 2026.
A key portion of the proposed transmission line passes through Oceanside, beginning at the new Barrett Substation near Daly Boulevard and traveling north along Long Beach Road, one of the community’s busiest thoroughfares. While residents and local officials have expressed concerns over traffic congestion and access interruptions, NY Transco representatives reiterated that coordination with municipal DPWs, fire departments, schools, and transit agencies is a top priority.
““For the most part, in this area, we will be doing night work to minimize impacts and potentially seasonal work, where we won’t be doing any kind of work in the summer to limit interferences with folks that are heading down to the beaches,” said Johnson.
The most current proposed cable path, included in materials shown during the webinar and now available on the project’s website, confirms that the route stays northbound from Barrett Substation and follows major arterial roads to limit residential impact.
“It really is the only viable alternative that we came up with, connecting us in the shortest path possible with the most efficient path from Barrett straight up to Uniondale hub,” Johnson said.
Propel NY Energy will serve as a backbone transmission system, designed to carry whatever power is available and dispatched by the New York Independent System Operator, including wind, solar, gas, or nuclear. In that way, the project positions itself as a key enabler of New York’s clean energy future.
The team expects to continue webinars and stakeholder outreach through 2025, and welcomes further engagement from local organizations, residents, and business owners. Maps, summaries, and updates are accessible at www.propelnyenergy.com.
