BPU Rejects Monmouth County Reliability Power Line Project

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — In a stunning decision Friday morning, the powerful state Board of Public Utilities unanimously rejected a proposal from Jersey Central Power & Light to build the Monmouth County Reliability Project.

The Monmouth County Reliability Project was a proposed high-voltage power line that would run for ten miles along the North Jersey Coast rail tracks between Aberdeen and Red Bank. The mega-watt power lines would cut through backyards and residential areas in Aberdeen, Hazlet, Red Bank and Middletown. JCP&L said the lines were badly needed to improve electric service in the area.

When JCP&L first suggested the project two years ago, there was tremendous community outcry, as residents near the North Jersey Coast tracks feared that not only would their property values plummet, but they and their families would be exposed to possibly cancer-causing radiation. One Middletown woman even started crying at a 2016 public meeting where JCP&L hoped to sell the project to residents. The poles would range in height from 135 to 210 feet.

Led by Middletown resident Rachael Kanapka, who became a de facto leader of the group, residents formed a grassroots coalition called RAGE (Residents Against Giant Electric) to stop the power lines. Friday's ruling is a tremendous victory for those residents.

This is actually the second time JCP&L tried to build the power lines in this area, and the second time they failed. JCP&L first suggested building the power lines in the 1980. That was when RAGE was first formed by northern Monmouth County residents.

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), who represents much of Monmouth County, applauded Friday’s ruling.

“Today’s decision is a vindication for local residents who fought long and hard to oppose these power lines, especially Rachel Kanapka and her committed group Residents Against Giant Electric (RAGE),” said Smith. “I applaud the Board of Public Utilities for making this decision, and I am pleased to have been able to work hard alongside all the members of RAGE.”

RAGE contented that JCP&L only sought to build the power lines so they could make money by selling the extra electricity to markets outside New Jersey.

"There is a bigger picture here that our case revealed, and it's important people know that," Kanapka has said. "Transmission lines make utilities money, and because of that, utilities propose them left and right. They have a lot to gain and nothing to lose by proposing transmission projects and hoping they stick."

It's an assertion JCP&L has disputed, saying they only wanted to provide better electric service to an area plagued by frequent power outages.

State boards often approve such requests from utility companies. Friday's unanimous rejection by the New Jersey BPU was stunning to many who follow energy markets and the energy industry.

But it was perhaps not stunning to the hundreds of Monmouth County residents who fought the lines.

The BPU's decision came after an earlier decision by New Jersey Administrative Law Judge Gail Cookson, who found that JCP&L had not proven the project was necessary.

"The BPU agreed with Judge Cookson’s decision that JCP&L did not prove need for the project or properly look at alternatives," said the NJ Sierra Club in a statement Friday. "This is good news for renewable energy and people who didn’t want to see these massive lines ruin the viewshed. This project was never needed and is less needed now. There are clear alternatives for energy efficiency, like putting the lines underground, non-transmission, smart grid technology, and/or demand response."

"We thank the BPU for standing up for the environment and the people of Monmouth County," said the Sierra Club.

Holmdel Mayor Tom Critelli hailed the BPU's decision.

"I am pleased that the BPU has agreed with Judge Cookson's well-reasoned conclusion and recognized that high tension power lines up to 210' tall have no place in our community," said Critelli on Friday. "And most of all, I would like to thank the public, as we could not have obtained this result without your continued support and grassroots opposition to the JCP&L application."

Ongoing Patch coverage of this important topic:

Cookson Ruling: JCP&L Suffers Major Setback In Quest To Build Power Lines

Tears, Shouting at JCPL Meeting Wednesday Night in Hazlet

Photo: Lisa S./Shutterstock.com