Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L), which serves over 1 million customers in central and northern New Jersey, is going to make its largest power grid upgrade in company history.

JCP&L said today that it’s filing a new infrastructure improvement program with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to upgrade its electric grid. Known as “EnergizeNJ,” the five-year, $935 million proposal includes investments in grid and substation modernization and system resiliency.

Some of the standout plans in the EnergizeNJ project include:

• Upgrading more than 600 miles of overhead power lines with more robust wiring that supports increased capacity and added resistance to storms
• Replacing approximately 46 miles of aging underground lines with modern, more protected wiring
• Upgrading 18 substations to increase overall system capacity and support additional backup power feeds that will help keep the lights on if wires or equipment on their regular line are offline

The upgrades and increased capacity will prepare the grid for the clean energy transition to accommodate new solar and EV charging infrastructure. 

If the proposal is approved, the typical JCP&L residential customer could expect a total increase of approximately $4.16, or 3.6%, on their monthly electric bill over the five-year plan. The rate adjustments would take place incrementally.

According to the US Department of Energy’s Interruption Cost Estimate tool, the $935 million proposal is expected to deliver an estimated $3.08 billion return on investment in electric service reliability benefits to JCP&L customers by helping prevent non-storm-related outages and expediting power restoration during significant storm events.

JCP&L, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, is one of four regulated electric distribution companies in New Jersey.

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Photo: Shutterstock

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