HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) – New England’s electricity manager wants federal lawmakers to reconsider a plan threatening to sink a Nantucket Sound wind farm proposal.

A congressional panel last week approved a measure that would allow Gov. Mitt Romney to veto the proposed wind farm project.

The bill still needs approval by the House and Senate, which will be on spring recess over the next two weeks.

But Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers has promised to fight the veto provision that was OK’d by the House Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

And earlier this week, a head of ISO New England, which operates the region’s electricity grid, sent a letter to the lawmakers on the committee asking them to reconsider.

“Our region is in need of both new generation resources and a diversification of its generational base,” Stephen Whitely, ISO New England’s senior vice president, wrote in a letter to the lawmakers. “This is important for both the economy and electric system reliability. To the extent we continue to rely on natural gas, we will continue to see higher costs for the region and a less reliable system.”

The congressional measure would give veto power to Romney, a strong opponent of the project, or his successor. Four of five gubernatorial candidates oppose the project as well.

The legislation would also permit the Coast Guard commandant to veto the project if it is a hazard to navigation.

Cape Wind says its proposed $800 million wind farm would be an environmentally friendly boon to the region’s rising energy needs, providing up to 75 percent of the power for the Cape and nearby islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

-Associated Press