JCP&L Transmission Line Project Up for Public Discussion

Jersey Central Power and Light is about to plunge $44,500,000 into a new 230-kilovolt transmission line through central Monmouth. Before it starts, homeowners in the five towns it touches can find out all about it at two open houses next week.

Information sessions for the Oceanview Reinforcement Project take place Monday at Howell Township Middle School, and Tuesday at the Sheraton Eatontown. Both start at 4 PM and end at 8 PM.

The Oceanview Reinforcement Project involves the installation of towers and wires in an already-existing 16-mile right-of-way corridor that houses an identical line. It would extend from the company's Larrabee substation in Howell to its Oceanview substation in Neptune, passing through Colts Neck, Tinton Falls and Wall Township.

"The purpose...is to enhance customer reliability, add redundancy to the system, and to meet the growing need for electricity in the area," says JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano.

According to Morano, the information sessions will be user-friendly. "We set up stations where people can go to have specific questions addressed," he says. "They can find out about what the new construction will look like, they can ask about the view from their property. We've also mailed letters to customers who live along the area."

The project is a component of JCP&L's $200,000,000 Local Infrastructure and Enhancement (LITE) program. It is recommended by operators of the PJM Grid, which oversees electricity distribution to 13 northeastern states.

The company expects to submit plans to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities by December in order to meet the PJM-suggested operational start date of June 2017.