January 2012 Capital Investment - National Grid

Exhibit ___ (EIOP-19)Page 101 of 684Buffalo Streetlight Cable ReplacementThis program will restore underground streetlight service by replacing streetlight cablesand conduit, and removing temporary overhead conductors.Drivers:A program to replace deteriorated street light cable in the Buffalo area is beingdeveloped to address repetitive incidents of elevated voltage as determined throughperiodic testing as defined under electric operating procedure NG-EOP G016. Theunderground street light cable system located in the Buffalo metropolitan area iscomprised of a variety of electrical cables and electrical wiring configurations that havebeen in service for more than 50 years. Recently, Elevated Voltage Testing hasidentified stray voltage incident rates that are from 2 to 20 times the rates measured inother areas in the Company’s service territory.Analyses have determined the primary driver for the elevated voltages in the area is dueto the deteriorated physical condition of the street light cable. Spot repairs have onlymarginally remedied the incidence rates. Current incident rates in 8 of the 11 zones inBuffalo have experienced inconsistent results following each repair cycle since 2009. Inconsideration of the root cause, a pilot was conducted to replace cable on a portion of apoor performing street light circuit. Following completion of the pilot project, test resultsrevealed no incidents of elevated voltage. Based on the success of the pilot, a programis being developed to replace street light cable circuits in Buffalo.Customer Benefits:This work will provide more reliable street light service and reduce the incidence ofelevated voltages in the Buffalo area.2011 to 2012 Variance:The program expects to spend $2.5M annually to replace approximately 14% of theexisting street light cable over a 10 year period. The projected investment is shown inthe table below. These projects were not funded in the 2011 CIP.Table IV-19Buffalo Streetlight Cable ReplacementProgram Variance ($millions)CIP FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 Total2011 - - - - - - -2012 - 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 12.5IV-25 25102