PSEG Is Battling ‘Extreme Weather’ With Sweeping Upgrades–And It’s Working, Company Says

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — One of New Jersey’s largest power delivery utilities continues to beef up its resiliency to “extreme weather” and increased demand, and it’s paying off with less outages, the company says.

PSE&G held a news conference in Essex County last week to announce its latest “reliability results.”

The report included an update on its Infrastructure Advancement Program. The company previously said it expects to invest $511 million between 2022 and 2026 into modernizing its distribution systems.

There have been 22 percent fewer outage incidents on circuits upgraded through the program: evidence that the upgrades are working as planned, PSE&G said Friday.

Other highlights from the news conference included:

• Utility Poles – “Since 2023, just under 22,000 poles have been proactively replaced through July 2026, resulting in a 50% improvement in reliability across the 20 circuits with the highest number of pole replacements compared to their 2020-2024 average.”
• Circuit Upgrades – “More than 30% improvement in resiliency and reliability from strengthening neighborhood electric circuits: 32 circuits upgraded with overhead electric infrastructure are now 37% more resilient and 31% more reliable.”
• More Capacity – “Adding capacity to meet customers’ changing energy needs. Since 2023, PSE&G has completed construction of six new high-capacity 13kV stations to address system overloads, replace aging equipment and increase capacity to accommodate solar generation.”

Over the last decade, PSE&G has completed $30 billion in projects across its electric and gas systems, with nearly 75 percent dedicated to reliability and resiliency. That work has included strengthening substations, upgrading transmission and distribution equipment and modernizing technology across the state, spokespeople said.

Other upgrades over the past decade have included installing more than 1,500 “smart switching devices” that can help crews identify problems and reroute power during outages, and raising 42 substations above Superstorm Sandy flood levels.

That’s good news in a state where extreme weather emergencies seem to lurk perpetually around the bend.

Earlier this summer, PSE&G embarked on one of the largest restoration efforts in company history after a severe heatwave and a deluge of thunderstorms left hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents without power over the Independence Day weekend.

By the time the skies had cleared, PSE&G had restored more than 380,000 customer outages in New Jersey. Meanwhile, the utility company replaced or repaired nearly 700 utility poles, and cleared more than 1,500 trees to access damaged equipment.

• Related: PSEG Wraps Up Repairs After Wild Weather Wallops NJ

LIVINGSTON SUBSTATION

PSE&G touted a new substation in Livingston – which supports the heavy and increased load of western Essex County – as additional proof that the system upgrades are paying off.

The site of Friday’s news conference, PSE&G’s Livingston substation was placed into service in 2024. It utilizes the existing 230kV transmission line to create a more robust and flexible feed into the station, helping to alleviate the potential for overload conditions and adding capacity to support future demand in the region.

“New Jerseyans expect the lights to stay on, especially when severe weather puts our electric infrastructure to the test,” said Sen. John McKeon (NJ-27), who represents Livingston, Millburn, Montclair, Roseland, West Orange and Clifton.

“As we witness stronger and more frequent severe weather events, strengthening our grid and investing in modern, resilient infrastructure is essential to protecting families, businesses, and communities across our state,” McKeon said.

• Related: Watch Crews Battle Wild Weather As They Fight To Restore Power In NJ

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.