Photo: Peter Cade / Stone / Getty Images
An infrastructure improvement program, dubbed EnergizeNJ, has been filed by Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. This proposal, carrying a price tag of $935 million, aims to fortify the state's electric system and lay groundwork for future smart grid capabilities. The investments target grid modernization, system resilience, and substation modernization.
Building on system enhancements since the approval of the company's Reliability Plus plan in 2019 by the BPU, EnergizeNJ aims to further improve outage restoration times and reduce the length of outages through the use of smart technology.
Key investments for customer benefits include the upgrading of over 600 miles of overhead power lines, replacement of around 46 miles of aging underground lines, installation of 2,175 new TripSaver devices across 500 circuits, standardization of service voltage across JCP&L's footprint, upgrades to 18 substations, modernizing protective devices and substation components, enhancing equipment at central New Jersey coastal substations, and purchasing additional mobile substations.
Historical outage data across JCP&L's 13-county service area have been used to identify the locations for the work, focusing on areas that would benefit most from upgraded power lines and new technology.
Upon approval of the plan, the typical JCP&L residential customer consuming 783 kilowatt-hours of electricity monthly, currently paying $116.88, could expect an approximate increase of $4.16, or 3.6%, on their monthly electric bill over the five-year plan duration. The rate adjustments would be implemented incrementally with seven rate adjustments ranging from approximately $0.10 to $0.99. Despite these adjustments, JCP&L claims their residential rates remain the lowest among New Jersey's four regulated electric distribution companies.
JCP&L currently serves 1.1 million customers across the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren.