Electric Infrastructure Upgrades Coming To Howell

HOWELL – Jersey Central Power & Light has announced major power line upgrades throughout Howell Township, which are slated to be completed in November.

These upgrades are a part of JCP&L’s New Jersey Reliability Improvement Project, a component of the company’s rate review settlement approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in February.

“JCP&L is committed to the safe, reliable delivery of electricity to our 1.1 million customers in New Jersey in a cost-conscious manner. The upgrades we are undertaking as part of the Reliability Improvement Project are one of the ways we are ensuring we are meeting our customer commitments,” said Doug Mokoid, FirstEnergy’s President, New Jersey.

The upgrades include:

• Replace existing infrastructure with thicker, stronger wires and poles that can safely carry more electricity and provide more resiliency in storms.

• Upgrading fuses and installing additional remote-access devices and reclosers, which allow power to be rerouted to adjacent lines when an outage occurs, minimizing the number of impacted customers.

• Installing TripSaver devices, which sense temporary abnormalities along power lines, such as a tree branch bouncing off lines, and automatically re-energize the line after the condition has passed without having to send a crew to investigate.

• Additional tree trimming and vegetation management along the circuits.

Equipment enhancements will take place along more than 10 miles of lines in Monmouth County, according to JCP&L.

Upgrades will begin in Howell Township and continue along a line that runs to Freehold Township, serving 2,200 customers. This line is among the first of 18 that will receive upgrades under the New Jersey Reliability Improvement Project.

The two-phase project will reliability for customers on high-priority lines selected based on historical outage data. The first phase will involve 95 million in upgrades and is set to be completed over the next three years. The second phase includes longer-duration projects and are slated for completion by the end of 2028.