Hingham Select Board clears path for Light Plant's $110 million transmission project

HINGHAM — December 2, 2025 — Hingham Select Board backs single tax rate and hears pitch for $110 million underground power line. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to maintain a single property tax rate for fiscal year 2026, accepting the Board of Assessors' recommendation that Hingham's 90 percent residential tax base makes a commercial shift counterproductive, with total assessed valuation reaching approximately $11.4 billion — up more than 6 percent. In the meeting's main event, Hingham Municipal Light Plant General Manager Tom Moveran and Light Board Chair Laura Burns outlined a proposal to build a new underground transmission line from Weymouth to a new Hingham substation, with total costs estimated at $100 million to $110 million and bonding of $60 million to $80 million expected to go before town meeting in 2026. Burns told the board that three rate increases already implemented — most recently in January 2025 — are designed to cover the project's cost, and that "we do not expect there to be any further rate increases related to the construction of this project." The board also unanimously set the FY26 senior means-tested property tax exemption at 100 percent of the state circuit breaker credit, with 86 of 88 applicants approved this year and $178,750 in total credits awarded.