And he said that even with the Sound cable, conservation is essential.
Some 330 megawatts would be transmitted over the 24-mile Cross Sound Cable, now in operation between New Haven and Shoreham.
Mr. Kessel said Connecticut officials deserved credit for agreeing to a compromise that allowed the 330-megawatt Cross Sound Cable to operate.
"The Cross Island Sound Cable, which has been improperly prevented from operating, could mean the difference between continued service and blackouts on Long Island, southwestern Connecticut and the entire region," Mr. Kessel said in his letter.
"We fashioned a compromise on the Cross Sound Cable and got the state to reverse itself on dumping dredged spoils in the Sound, but we are still getting a hard time on a benign gas pipeline," Mr. Levy said.
In his response to those remarks, Mr. Rowland wrote in a letter to Mr. Kessel, "You have recently made public remarks about my state and the cross sound cable project that are uncalled for and unprofessional".
There was a furious dispute over the Cross Sound Cable, which was shut down by Spencer Abraham, the federal energy secretary, on May 7, just as the weather was warming and Long Island was entering a period of high demand for electricity.
Gov. John G. Rowland said yesterday that the state would hire an independent environmental consultant to evaluate the effects of burying the Cross Sound Cable to the depths required by the State Department of Environmental Protection.
