Meriden Officials, Residents Push for Change at Abandoned Power Plant

The unfinished power plant sitting atop Cathole Mountain is about to be abandoned for the second time in just over a decade, but Meriden officials are seeking action and assistance in getting NRG Energy to complete a list of “promised” tasks before leaving the property vacant.

City Manager Lawrence Kendzior and other officials came before the Connecticut Siting Council this week to address concerns related to the property, including unfinished sight lines that would block the view of the building and safety issues associated with the location.

Kendzior told the council that the planting of 90 evergreen trees on the perimeter of the property should still be completed to screen the buildings from public view and added that they would serve to protect South Mountain Road from falling trap rock, according to a report from the Record-Journal.

“Those trees, if they planted them when they said they would, would be pretty tall by now,” Kendzior said in the Record-Journal report. “They said they were going to do those things so they won’t be as visible.”

The property was first named in a proposal for a gas-to-electric plant in 1999 and was purchased by NRG Energy under the name of Meriden Gas Turbines in 2000 from PDC-El Paso. As of 2011, NRG Energy officials said they were “excited” for a shovel-ready project at the plant.

But in March of this year, a letter to the Connecticut Siting Council noted that the company planned to abandon the project and forfeit their certificate granted by the council a decade ago.

Residents urged the siting council to address damage done on the mountain before NRG Energy fully abandons the property. The company has argued in a letter from attorney Andrew Lord, representing NRG, that the siting council has no jurisdiction to enforce such action because no electrical equipment exists on the site.

TELL US: How should the company handle the abandoned plant? Should changes be made before they leave? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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