Electric Grid Enhancements to Benefit 5,000 JCP&L Customers in Morris, Passaic and Sussex Counties
Rhea-AI Summary
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary JCP&L has initiated a major grid enhancement project targeting over 5,000 customers across Morris, Passaic, and Sussex Counties in northern New Jersey. The comprehensive upgrade includes 11.5 miles of infrastructure strengthening with more robust poles and wiring, plus 3 miles of new underground lines.
The project, part of JCP&L's New Jersey Reliability Improvement Program, involves installing nearly 60 devices including TripSaver technology for automated fault detection, enhanced tree-trimming, and transferring 2,400 customers to neighboring power lines. This initiative represents a portion of the program's first phase, which includes $95 million in upgrades over three years.
The project is part of FirstEnergy's broader Energize365 grid evolution program, which plans to invest $26 billion between 2024-2028 across six states to create a smarter, more secure power grid.
Positive
- Major infrastructure upgrade affecting 5,000+ customers, improving grid reliability
- $95 million investment in first phase of reliability improvement program
- Installation of 60 new devices including advanced TripSaver technology
- Strategic transfer of 2,400 customers to reduce outage risks
- Part of larger $26 billion grid modernization investment (2024-2028)
Negative
- Extensive construction work may cause temporary disruptions
- Significant capital expenditure may impact short-term financial metrics
News Market Reaction – FE
In the trading session that priced this news, FE declined 1.03%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
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Extensive upgrade project includes more than 14 miles of new wiring
The work will take place along multiple power lines running from JCP&L's
Doug Mokoid, FirstEnergy's President,
Enhanced tree-trimming work, including the removal of diseased or dead trees, is currently underway along the power line routes. Several grid infrastructure enhancements are also slated under this project, including:
- Upgrading nearly 11.5 miles of existing infrastructure with thicker, stronger poles and overhead wire that can safely carry more electricity and provide more resiliency in storms.
- Constructing more than three miles of new underground lines.
- Installing nearly 60 additional devices that can help isolate damage and restore customers when outages do occur. This includes new TripSaver devices, which sense temporary abnormalities along power lines, such as a tree branch bouncing off lines, and automatically reenergize the line after the condition has passed without having to send a crew to investigate.
- Transferring more than 2,400 customers to neighboring power lines, placing them closer to substations to reduce the risk of outages and provide improved load balancing and flexibility if outages occur.
As part of the work, portions of lines along Route 23 will be moved closer to the road and fiberglass poles and crossarms will be installed to provide enhanced resiliency against tree-related outages.
The work is part of JCP&L's New Jersey Reliability Improvement Program, a two-phase effort to enhance reliability for customers on high-priority lines selected based on historical outage data. The first phase includes a minimum of
The New Jersey Reliability Improvement Program is part of Energize365, FirstEnergy's grid evolution program focused on investing
JCP&L serves 1.1 million customers in the counties of
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving more than six million customers in
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.