JCP and L Building New 16-Mile Transmission Line

Monmouth County, NJ - Jersey Central Power & Light is currently building a new 16-mile, 230-kilovolt transmission line to connect JCP&L substations in Howell and Neptune.

The new line should improve service for more than 180,000 customers in Colts Neck, Howell, Neptune, Tinton Falls and Wall, JCP&L estimates.

Construction has already begun on the new transmission line, and it is expected to be completed and in-service by June 2017.

The transmission line is being built using steel poles instead of the current wooden structures, spokesman Ron Morano said. Ultimately, the work also will include installing new equipment in the substations, including circuit breakers and remote-control communications equipment. The overall cost of the project is $124 million, with about $97 million being spent in 2016.

The new equipment, "will give us the ability to operate the system remotely, automatically resetting the equipment instead of having to send a line crew to investigate the cause of the problem," said Jim Fakult, president of JCP&L.