November 22, 2022

JCP&L has started construction on two projects that will upgrade 19 miles of transmission power lines in the Monmouth County, N.J., area, helping enhance reliability for 50,000 customers.

The projects are part of Energizing the Future, a multi-year, $7-billion initiative designed to upgrade FirstEnergy’s transmission system with advanced equipment and technologies to enhance grid reliability and resiliency.

Totaling $53 million in new investments, the Monmouth projects will replace the existing wires, hardware and structures that have been in place since the 1970s with new poles, wires and equipment to help reinforce the electric grid and prevent or reduce the duration of customer outages.

JCP&L is upgrading nearly six miles of an existing 34.5-kilovolt (kV) power line running east from a substation in Middletown to a substation in Union Beach. A second  circuit is being installed along the line for redundancy and operational flexibility. Approximately 20,600 customers will benefit from this work, which is expected to be complete in May 2023.

The company is also replacing 13 miles of an existing 34.5-kV line that runs northeast from a substation in Colts Neck to a substation in Matawan, and will reconfigure the line to have two independent circuits. This work is expected to be complete in December 2023 and will benefit 29,200 customers.

Having two independent circuits will allow JCP&L to keep customers in service if one of the circuits is deenergized for maintenance. It will also help reduce outage durations by providing a secondary source of power and additional capacity to serve customer demand.

“These upgrades to our lines and equipment will help to fortify our transmission system and ensure that we can continue to meet the current and future needs of the customers we serve in the Monmouth County area,” said Jim Fakult, president, New Jersey Operations.

Since 2014, through Energizing the Future, FirstEnergy has upgraded or replaced existing power lines, incorporated smart technology into the grid and upgraded dozens of substations with new equipment and enhanced security features.