Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) has competed upgrades to 22 major circuits across eight counties, including Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties.
According to a press release from JCP&L, the upgrades will enhance service reliability to nearly 41,000 customers in Burlington, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean and Warren counties.
JCP&L completed upgrades in Aberdeen Township, Colts Neck, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Holmdel, Marlboro, Matawan and Middletown in Monmouth County. The utility completed upgrades in Berkeley Township, Jackson, Lacey, Lakewood and Manchester in Ocean County.
JCP&L completed upgrades in Sayreville and South Amboy in Middlesex County.
According to the press release, the upgrades include installing more resilient polymer fuses, animal guards and lightning protection devices. This includes adding larger 10-foot cross-arms to increase wire clearance and installing fault indicators that could help identify problem areas on a circuit.
The press release states that JCP&L has completed more than 40 of 90 planned upgrades across its service area. The total cost for the upgrades is about $6 million.
These projects are a part of JCP&L’s previous plans to spend $267 million in 2015 to maintain a strong electrical system and help meet future load growth.
“With the summer season upon us and the possibility of storms and increased customer electrical usage, these circuit enhancements are expected to make our distribution system more robust,” JCP&L Vice President of Operations Tony Hurley said. “The work will provide reliability benefits to our customers now and in the future by helping to limit the frequency and duration of potential service disruptions.”