JCP&L Plans Electric Grid Upgrade to Improve Reliability in Monmouth County

An electric grid upgrade is underway in Monmouth County to improve service for Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) customers. The project involves rebuilding and modernizing a section of the local power grid to strengthen reliability and reduce the frequency and duration of outages.

JCP&L, a FirstEnergy Corp. electric company, is constructing a new high-voltage power line between two substations located in Middletown Township and Red Bank Borough. The new line is intended to provide an additional source of electricity if a primary line is unavailable due to weather-related events or other issues.

As part of the project, approximately half a mile of power lines will be installed underground after crossing the Navesink River Bridge, along with about one mile of new overhead lines installed on existing poles. Near the Red Bank substation, a new wooden pole will be added to transition the line from overhead to underground, completing the connection.

Doug Mokoid, FirstEnergy’s president of New Jersey, said the investment is intended to help reduce outages, shorten restoration times and support long-term community growth.

The upgrade is expected to help balance electricity demand across the system and provide additional options for restoring power during emergencies or maintenance. It will also replace infrastructure originally built in the 1970s with newer equipment designed to better withstand severe weather and other common causes of outages, such as tree and animal interference.

Once completed, the project is expected to benefit nearly 11,400 JCP&L customers by improving grid reliability, capacity and flexibility, reducing outage frequency and duration, and enhancing overall system resiliency. Construction began in September 2025 and is expected to be completed by February 2026, pending final approvals.

The project is part of a broader $1.6 million investment aimed at improving the electric system in Northern Monmouth County. Additional work includes replacing more than 2.5 miles of power lines and poles, installing advanced technology to detect and isolate problems, and adding new equipment to reroute electricity and limit the number of customers affected by outages.

In addition, a separate $36 million project is upgrading aging insulators along 76 miles of power lines in Monmouth, Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Morris counties. Some of these components are more than 40 years old, and the upgrades are intended to reduce the risk of pole fires, electrical issues and service interruptions.

Customers are not expected to experience service interruptions during construction. This work began in September and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.

The Monmouth County upgrades are part of FirstEnergy’s Energize365 program, a long-term plan to modernize its electric grid. The company plans to invest $28 billion through Energize365 between 2025 and 2029 to support grid security, reliability and future growth.