JCP&L Announces Circuit Upgrades in Manchester

Jersey Central Power & Light has finished upgrading circuits that serve Manchester, Toms River and Berkeley, the power company announced Tuesday, improvements it says will reduce not only the number of outages but how long those outages last.

“The work is part of the company’s effort to enhance service reliability to customers,” the company said in a news release. “The upgrades included installing more resilient polymer fuses, adding larger 10-foot cross arms to increase wire clearance, and installing fault indicators that help identify problem areas on a circuit, which helps speed the restoration process if an outage occurs.”

Tony Hurley, vice president of operations, said the upgrades will limit the frequency of outages and also shorten the length of time that power is out. The work is part of the company’s plan to invest $251 million on improvements to its entire system, including $6 million for 118 circuit upgrades, the release said.

(PHOTO: JCP&L workers install equipment as part of an upgrade designed to reduce the frequency of power outages. Credit: FirstEnergy Corp. photo)