JCPL Finishes Transmission Line Through Manalapan

Manalapan, NJ - Amidst the backlash over JCP&L's proposal to build a six-mile transmission line from Aberdeen to Red Bank, the power company just completed the final phase of an 11.5-mile transmission line through western Monmouth County, from Hightstown to Manalapan.

The new 115-kilovolt-transmission line runs between an existing substation in Hightstown and a transmission structure located along Rt. 33 near Manalapan. The project included installing five new steel monopoles. By contrast, the proposed transmission line from Aberdeen to Red Bank includes installing approximately 100 monopoles, ranging from 140 to 200+ feet tall.

JCP&L is also currently in the middle of building yet another transmission line, a 16-mile route from Howell to Neptune. Like the Aberdeen to Red Bank plan, that transmission line was recommended by PJM Interconnection, the interstate grid operator.

The line from Manalapan to Millstone is located within or adjacent to existing corridors, roadways and railroad rights-of-way, JCP&L said. It stretches through a mostly rural area of New Jersey and received little to no opposition from the surrounding communities.

The company says it will mean improved electrical service to 34,000 customers in Mercer, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, specifically in towns such as East Windsor, Englishtown, Hightstown, Manalapan, Millstone and Monroe.

Photo provided by JCP&L of the news steel monopoles installed from Hightstown to Manalapan.