JCP&L to Invest $1.6 million to Modernize Local Electric System in Northern Monmouth County
Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), a FirstEnergy company, is investing $1.6 million to modernize the local electric system in Northern Monmouth County.
The upgrades will support fewer disruptions and shorter ones when they occur for customers in Keyport, Hazlet and Union Beach.
Customers will get to experience:
- Fewer outages: Smart upgrades to neighborhood power lines will help limit the number of customers affected when outages happen.
- Faster restoration: Crews will be able to reroute power more efficiently, getting the lights back on quicker.
- Smarter system: These improvements give JCP&L more flexibility to respond to issues and keep power flowing.
Project work includes:
- Upgrading more than 2.5 miles of overhead power lines and poles to boost capacity and storm resilience.
- Modernizing devices that detect abnormal conditions and protect equipment automatically.
- Adding equipment to reroute power to adjacent lines during outages to minimize the number of impacted customers.
The work is part of JCP&L's New Jersey Reliability Improvement Project, a two-phase effort to enhance the reliability of lines with a history of outages. About $95 million in upgrades will be completed over the next two years, with longer term projects continuing through 2028.
The New Jersey Reliability Improvement Project is part of Energize365, FirstEnergy's $28 billion investment program to modernize the electric grid across the footprint between 2025 and 2029.