Fewer Outages & Faster Restoration Times Coming To Northern Monmouth County, JCP&L Says

HAZLET, NJ — Northern Monmouth County residents can look forward to more reliable power as Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), a FirstEnergy company, has invested $1.6 million to modernize the local electric system, the company announced Monday.

These upgrades aim to support fewer disruptions and shorter ones when they do occur for thousands of customers in Keyport, Hazlet and Union Beach, officials said.

The investment is part of JCP&L’s “ongoing commitment to delivering safe, dependable electricity for the communities it serves.” For customers, officials said this means:

• Fewer Outages: Upgrades to neighborhood power lines will help limit the number of customers affected when outages happen.
• Faster Restoration: Crews will be able to reroute power more efficiently, getting the lights back on quicker.
• Smarter System: These improvements give JCP&L more flexibility to respond to issues and keep power flowing.

"We are all about building a stronger, more balanced electric system for our customers. At the end of the day, our priority is making sure you get reliable, safe service you can count on,” said Doug Mokoid, FirstEnergy’s President of New Jersey. “This work reinforces our commitment to delivering a resilient energy future that keeps our customers' homes and businesses powered, today and tomorrow."

Project work includes:

• Upgrading over 2.5 miles of overhead power lines and poles to boost capacity and storm resilience
• Modernizing devices that detect abnormal conditions and protect equipment automatically
• Adding equipment to reroute power to adjacent lines during outages to minimize the number of impacted customers

This work is part of JCP&L's New Jersey Reliability Improvement Project, a two-phase effort to enhance the reliability of lines with a history of outages.

At least $95 million in upgrades will be completed over the next two years, officials said, with longer-term projects continuing through 2028.

The NJ Reliability Improvement Project is also part of Energize365, FirstEnergy's $28 billion investment program to modernize the electric grid across the footprint between 2025 and 2029.

JCP&L serves 1.1 million customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren.

To learn more, you can visit the FirstEnergy website.