$15.4 million JCP&L upgrade aims to boost electric reliability for Hunterdon County customers
HUNTERDON COUNTY, N.J. — A $15.4 million reliability-focused upgrade is underway in Hunterdon County to make electric service more resilient for more than 3,600 Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) customers, the utility announced.
The project, part of JCP&L’s New Jersey Reliability Improvement Project, includes enhancements to overhead lines, substations, and the installation of underground wires in forested areas to help reduce outages and speed repairs. Communities benefiting from the work include Alexandria, Delaware, Flemington Borough, Franklin, Frenchtown Borough, Kingwood, Stockton Borough and Union.
Electricity demand from communities served by JCP&L substations in Baptistown and Rosemont is growing, and upgrades at these substations are designed to provide more resiliency and flexibility.
“As our local communities grow, they need more power to keep homes and businesses running,” said Doug Mokoid, FirstEnergy’s president of New Jersey. “We’re strengthening overhead power lines and putting some lines underground to help make sure our customers have power they can rely on – even during storms. The smart improvements mean safer, more dependable electricity for everyone.”
Planned improvements include reconfiguring neighborhood circuits to optimize reliability, upgrading more than 20 miles of overhead lines and 30 poles, installing nearly 3 miles of underground wires in remote wooded areas, increasing equipment to reroute power during outages, and deploying automated TripSaver devices that can restore power without the need for a crew. The work also includes expanded vegetation management.
The Hunterdon County upgrades are part of a larger $95 million investment JCP&L is making over the next two years to address lines with a history of outages, with longer-term projects planned through 2028.
The New Jersey Reliability Improvement Project is included in FirstEnergy’s $28 billion Energize365 program, which aims to modernize the electric grid between 2025 and 2029 to create a smarter, more secure system capable of meeting future growth.
