$175M PSEG Project Up For Vote In Hoboken: ‘Reliable Electricity’ Needed

HOBOKEN, NJ — Are you a Hoboken resident who has experienced power outages during a storm? Then you have a direct stake in the outcome of Wednesday’s City Council vote on a proposed $175 million PSE&G project that would combine the Marshall Street substation with the Madison Street substation in an effort to “elevate and modernize” the 50-year-old facilities, which are both at-risk to flooding.

"This project will ensure that all Hoboken residents, including our most in need residents in the Housing Authority, have reliable electricity for lights and heat through future severe storm events and other emergencies,” Mayor Dawn Zimmer said.

Additional project information can be seen at the below links:

www.hobokennj.gov/docs/communitydev/Memo-Zimmer-Council-PSEG-4-13-17.pdf

www.hobokennj.gov/docs/communitydev/PSE&G-Memo-to-Council-2-13-17.pdf

According to city officials, the project would include a land swap through which the municipality would transfer the lot adjacent to the existing Madison Street Substation to PSE&G in exchange for PSE&G transferring the Marshall Street Substation property to the Ccty.

PSE&G would also make a payment of $1.245 million to the municipality to compensate for the difference in the appraised value of the properties, as well as an annual “loss of use” payment of $275,250 until PSE&G has completed the decommissioning and remediation of the Marshall Street Substation property, officials said.

Hoboken city officials said that PSE&G has already invested $130 million to upgrade and elevate the 16th Street substation.

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“All of our residents and our business community need reliable energy, and this project will make certain that we never again have to endure weeks without lights or heat like we did during Sandy,” Zimmer said. “I have advocated strongly for an innovative design for the substation, and I want to thank PSE&G for continuing to work with the city to create a design that integrates with our urban landscape and replaces the unattractive substations surrounded by chain link fences and barbed wire. With the council's support, this vital project will start construction this summer and when completed, will ensure a resilient and reliable energy source for our entire city.”

• See related article: Hoboken Readies H-5 Pump Station: Will Help Alleviate ‘Chronic Flooding’
• See related article: This Is Why Hoboken Smells Like Sewage

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Photos: City of Hoboken