JCP&L Announces Planned Improvements

After two devastating power outages in the fall, JCP&L announced plans for upgrading wires, connections and systems across Northern and Central New Jersey in hopes of preventing further problems.

According to a press release issued this morning (Feb. 28), the company will spend $200 million this year and more in coming years "on projects designed to improve service reliability and help meet the increasing demand for electricity" in the area.

The company come under blistering pressure from customers and government officials after September's Tropical Storm Irene and the October snowstorm, both of which left thousands of Warren residents without electrical power for as long as five days after the storms.

The work include replacing aging utility poles and underground wires, upgrade distribution centers and continue "to invest in vegetation management to trim trees, maintain proper clearances and mitigate potential damage to distribution facilities from falling tree limbs," one of the major sources of trouble in Warren

“The substantial investments we plan to make this year and in the future are part of JCP&L’s ongoing efforts to improve the quality of service we provide our customers,” Don Lynch, president of JCP&L, said. “We have targeted projects such as replacing wires and poles, installing new fuses, adding new equipment, and trimming trees, all to improve service to our customers.”

During a press conference announcing the plans, Lynch said the company will spend $20 million on the "aggresive tree trimming program."

"We have to cut back trees and branches that threaten our wires," Lynch said. "It's an outage waiting to happen."

Asked whether JCP&L would be more aggressive than usual following the damage caused in 2011 from natural disasters, Lynch said the utility would work with towns to make sure the proper amount of clearance–15 feet in any direction from the wires–is obtained. "If we don't have the rights, we have to obtain permission, we can't just go in and do that," he said. "A lot of the outages we saw were caused by trees outside our trimming corridor."

Overall, Lynch said he wanted customers to know JCP&L was working on continuing to improve its systems.

"We want to get out and show folks JCP&L continues to invest," he said.

The company's 440-word statement includes a nearly 650-word disclaimer noting the plans are based on "information currently available to management," and subject to change due to a variety of factors.

Morristown Patch Local Editor John Dunphy contributed to this article.