Sebastian Chen

Sebastian Chen, identifying himself as “with one of the design contractors, working on this project with National Grid,” described the utility work before the Everett City Council on April 13, 2026. He said the pole installations and underground work are part of support for a new residential building, “supposed to be a 134-unit,” and for a “1,500 KVA transformer out on 376 Second Street.” He characterized the project as one meant “to increase feeder flexibility” and support the new load, adding that National Grid is “bringing a brand new feeder out there” to add “a little bit more flexibility for the area.”

Chen explained that “every single one of the poles is a low break pole except for two of them,” and said poles 931 and 932 on Boston Street would be relocated to the other side of the road at 404 Third Street because of a large metal building. He said the relocation was needed to maintain “a seven-and-a-half-foot clearance” from that building. He also said the area is on “a brand new circuit,” so the poles on the petition would be new and taller to support a double circuit. He added that the work would help with outage isolation and switching capability: “there’s more flexibility and capability to, you know, turn off power in one area and isolate an outage.”

When asked about future capacity and whether additional poles would be needed for other projects, Chen said the company would not necessarily have to do that for every future development, though it would depend on the customer’s load demand. He said planners continuously study present and future load and estimated the system load at “about 1,200,” while noting he would need to verify the exact figure. He also framed the project as “future-proofing” while meeting the immediate pad-mount need.

Chen answered questions about project scope and roadway restoration. He identified the underground work as a section along Broadway, from Beecham Street up to Second Street, while the overhead work was primarily along Second Street. He said restoration would be “single lane restoration instead of curb to curb” on Broadway. He also agreed to look into adding more luminaires and to confirm who owns the streetlights in Everett, saying he would “double-check” and “circle back.” No votes were taken involving Chen.