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FirstEnergy Corporation FE announced that its subsidiary Jersey Central Power & Light (“JCP&L”) has begun construction work on a year-long project to upgrade overhead and install a new underground electric service lines in portions of Sussex County. The $5.1 million project is expected to be completed in November this year.

The work will take place along a power line running from a JCP&L substation in the Landing section of Roxbury Township. It is expected to benefit 1,700 customers in Roxbury, the Borough of Mount Arlington in western Morris County and the Borough of Hopatcong in southern Sussex County.

Key Details of FE’s Electric Grid Upgrade Project

In addition to enhanced tree trimming along the power line, the electric grid upgrades include installing nearly 2,000 ft. of underground wires in Roxbury Township. It also includes upgrading existing infrastructure with thicker, stronger poles and overhead wires that can safely carry more electricity and provide more resiliency in storms.

The company is also increasing the number of protective devices and reclosers that allow power to be rerouted to adjacent lines when an outage occurs, thereby minimizing the number of customers impacted. It also aims to install 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 for investigation.

The project is part of JCP&L's New Jersey Reliability Improvement Project, a two-phase initiative to improve customer reliability on high-priority lines chosen using past outage data. The first phase involves upgrades totaling at least $95 million over three years.

Benefits of the Project

In order to improve service reliability for its customers, the company supports robust overhead improvements and selective undergrounding. FE’s financial performance should improve as a result of this work, enabling it to better meet the customers' present and future energy needs.

Upgrading overhead and installing new underground electric service will lead to fewer outages during the storms, resulting in lower repair and maintenance expenses for the company. The possibility of providing uninterrupted electricity to customers even during severe weather conditions should enhance the company’s bottom line.

This project is part of FirstEnergy's grid evolution program, Energize365, which aims to invest $28 billion throughout its six-state footprint between 2025 and 2029 to build a smarter, more secure grid that can meet future challenges while providing the power customers need today.