Jersey Central Power & Light has started construction on a new substation project in Monmouth County to help enhance service reliability for more than 180,000 customers in Colts Neck, Howell, Neptune, Tinton Falls and Wall.
The project includes building a new 16-mile, 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line along existing right-of-way with steel pole construction to connect JCP&L substations in Howell and Neptune. In addition, an existing 230-kV transmission line connecting substations in Colts Neck and Neptune will be rebuilt using steel poles instead of the current wooden structures. Ultimately, the work also will include installing new equipment in these substations, including circuit breakers and remote-control communications equipment. The overall cost of the project is $124 million, with about $97 million being spent in 2016.
"This transmission project will make our system in Monmouth County more resilient and help meet the growing demand for electricity in the region," said Jim Fakult, president of JCP&L. "Along with the greater redundancies provided by the new transmission line, the high-tech substation devices we plan to install will give us the ability to operate the system remotely, automatically resetting the equipment instead of having to send a line crew to investigate the cause of the problem."
The new transmission line is expected to be completed and in-service by June 2017.
The project is part of JCP&L's multi-year, $250 million "Energizing the Future" transmission system reliability enhancement program.
