April 14, 2026 By Carol Britton Meyer
Town Meeting voters on April 27 will decide whether to allow to secure up to $70 million in long-term bonds for the “HMLP Reliability Project.”
HMLP is proposing to construct and operate a new transmission line from Weymouth to Hingham, a second substation at the Hingham transfer station, and a tap station in Weymouth to address critical reliability concerns.
HMLP has completed a comprehensive analysis and determined that the current infrastructure is vulnerable because the existing two transmission lines are double circuit towers carrying two lines on 22 single poles along the Greenbush Railroad line.
If even a single pole goes down, both lines would be out of service, and the entire town could lose electrical power for an extended period, according to the comment in the town meeting warrant under article 28.
All project expenditures will be paid through electric rates over 20 to 40 years – with “no significant rate increases” expected due to this project.
HMLP plans to use existing reserve funds and revenue from rate increases that went into effect over the past several years.
According to a flyer mailed to Hingham residents, utility projects have no effect on the town’s ability to borrow for any other capital project now or in the future.
Approval of this article requires a two-thirds vote. See the town meeting warrant, which is mailed to every Hingham household prior to Town Meeting, for full details.