ABSTRACT
A 1969 poll had shown that 84% of all Berkshire residents were unaware of environmental problems, and there was no reason to expect a higher degree of consciousness of power plant siting issues. The problem of political resistance, it should be noted, had been essentially unknown during the '60s to the several electric companies which would eventually be combined to form Northeast Utilities. After all, theirs was a pioneering and unprecedented effort which, under very trying circumstances no less, had to be played almost entirely by ear. Possibly, but readers should bear in mind that other utilities have since had positive experiences with citizen participation initiated at the point when a specific plant has been proposed and site options have been relatively limited. The dawning of 1971 found Northeast Utilities somewhat behind schedule in preparation of a site comparison report, but enough information was in hand to convince company managers that Canaan Mountain should be the preferred alternative.
