MORRISTOWN, N.J., July 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jersey Central
Power & Light (JCP&L) filed a four-year infrastructure plan
today with the New Jersey Board of
Public Utilities (BPU) aimed at enhancing the reliability and
resiliency of its distribution system against severe weather and
reducing the frequency and duration of power outages.
JCP&L Reliability Plus includes about
$400 million in targeted investments
above and beyond its regular annual investments to enhance
JCP&L's service reliability and resiliency. The plan
includes nearly 4,000 enhancements that will help the reliability
and resiliency of overhead and underground distribution lines, as
well as new equipment to reduce the frequency and duration of
outages. It also outlines additional vegetation management to
reduce the potential for tree damage, which is the primary cause of
outages during severe storms in JCP&L's service area.
"The special focus of this program is to limit damage during
severe weather events," said Jim
Fakult, president of JCP&L. "The new equipment,
along with enhanced vegetation management, builds on our ongoing
efforts to ensure customer service reliability and resiliency."
Reliability Plus was created following a detailed
analysis of JCP&L's distribution system, as well as lessons
learned from the restoration efforts following recent severe
weather events.
JCP&L expects the plan's economic benefit to customers and
businesses from enhanced reliability and resiliency will be
$1.9 billion over the estimated life
of the equipment installed through the program. JCP&L
estimates the initial increase on the monthly bill for an average
residential customer would be about 25
cents.
Key JCP&L Reliability Plus projects
include:
- Overhead circuit reliability and resiliency – Conducting
enhanced vegetation management to remove trees and limbs
overhanging the distribution system in certain areas, as well as
trees affected by the emerald ash borer near JCP&L power lines
and equipment. This work will make JCP&L's electric
distribution system less susceptible to storm damage and enhance
resiliency by addressing the primary cause of outages during storm
events – tree damage. JCP&L will also be installing new
TripSaver II devices to reduce the number of momentary outages that
become longer-duration outages.
- Substation reliability enhancement – Protecting
JCP&L substations from storm damage by implementing flood
mitigation measures, upgrading distribution substation equipment,
enhancing substation fencing and acquiring four mobile
substations. These projects will increase the distribution
system's resiliency, operational flexibility, safety and
security.
- Distribution automation – Installing new technology that
can pinpoint and isolate damage on the system, which quickly
decreases the number of customers affected by an outage.
- Underground system improvements – Accelerating
replacement of underground cable and submersible transformers with
new equipment. These projects will increase customer
service reliability and resiliency by reducing the frequency
and duration of outages and enhancing current operations.
JCP&L, a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary, serves 1.1
million New Jersey customers in
the counties of Burlington,
Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union
and Warren. Follow JCP&L
on Twitter @JCP_L, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL or
online at www.jcp-l.com.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational
excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one
of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving
customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, West Virginia,
Maryland and New York. The
company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles
of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online
at www.firstenergycorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on information
currently available to management. Such statements are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These
statements include declarations regarding management's intents,
beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically
contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate,"
"potential," "expect," "forecast," "target," "will," "intend,"
"believe," "project," "estimate," "plan" and similar words.
Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may
include the following: the ability to successfully execute an
exit of commodity-based generation that minimizes cash outflows and
associated liabilities, including, without limitation, the losses,
guarantees, claims and other obligations of FirstEnergy Corp.,
together with its consolidated subsidiaries (FirstEnergy) as such
relate to the entities previously consolidated into FirstEnergy,
including FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.(FES), its subsidiaries and
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), which have recently
filed for bankruptcy protection; the potential for litigation and
demands for payment against FirstEnergy by FES and FENOC or certain
of their creditors; the risks associated with the bankruptcy cases
of FES, its subsidiaries and FENOC, including, but not limited to,
third-party motions in the cases that could adversely affect
FirstEnergy, its liquidity or results of operations; the ability to
experience growth in the Regulated Distribution and Regulated
Transmission segments and the effectiveness of our strategy to
operate as a fully regulated business; the accomplishment of our
regulatory and operational goals in connection with our
transmission and distribution investment plans, including, but not
limited to, our planned transition to forward-looking formula
rates; changes in assumptions regarding economic conditions within
our territories, assessment of the reliability of our transmission
and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other
resources supporting identified transmission and distribution
investment opportunities; the ability to accomplish or realize
anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals, including,
but not limited to, the ability to grow earnings in our regulated
businesses, continue to reduce costs and to successfully execute
our financial plans designed to improve our credit metrics and
strengthen our balance sheet; the risks and uncertainties
associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and like
proceedings; the uncertainties associated with the deactivation of
our remaining commodity-based generating units, including the
impact on vendor commitments, and as it relates to the reliability
of the transmission grid, the timing thereof; costs being higher
than anticipated and the success of our policies to control costs;
the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital
expenditures that may arise in connection with any litigation,
including New Source Review litigation, or potential regulatory
initiatives or rulemakings; changes in customers' demand for power,
including, but not limited to, changes resulting from the
implementation of state and federal energy efficiency and peak
demand reduction mandates; economic and weather conditions
affecting future sales, margins and operations, such as significant
weather events, and all associated regulatory events or actions;
changes in national and regional economic conditions affecting
FirstEnergy and/or our major industrial and commercial customers,
and other counterparties with which we do business; the impact of
labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; the risks associated
with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our information
technology system that may compromise our generation, transmission
and/or distribution services and data security breaches of
sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally
identifiable information regarding our business, employees,
shareholders, customers, suppliers, business partners and other
individuals in our data centers and on our networks; the impact of
the regulatory process and resulting outcomes on the matters at the
federal level and in the various states in which we do business,
including, but not limited to, matters related to rates; the impact
of the federal regulatory process on Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) regulated entities and transactions, in
particular FERC regulation of PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM)
wholesale energy and capacity markets and cost-of-service rates, as
well as FERC's compliance and enforcement activity, including
compliance and enforcement activity related to North American
Electric Reliability Corporation's mandatory reliability standards;
the uncertainties of various cost recovery and cost allocation
issues resulting from American Transmission Systems, Incorporated's
realignment into PJM; the ability to comply with applicable state
and federal reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak
demand reduction mandates; other legislative and regulatory
changes, including the federal administration's required review and
potential revision of environmental requirements, including, but
not limited to, the effects of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, Coal Combustion Residuals,
Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
programs, including our estimated costs of compliance, Clean Water
Act (CWA) waste water effluent limitations for power plants, and
CWA 316(b) water intake regulation; changing market conditions that
could affect the measurement of certain liabilities and the value
of assets held in our pension trusts and other trust funds, and
cause us and/or our subsidiaries to make additional contributions
sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated;
the impact of changes to significant accounting policies; the
impact of any changes in tax laws or regulations, including the Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act, adopted December 22,
2017, or adverse tax audit results or rulings; the ability
to access the public securities and other capital and credit
markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such
capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets
affecting us and our subsidiaries; further actions that may be
taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect us
and/or our subsidiaries' access to financing, increase the costs
thereof, letters of credit and other financial guarantees, and the
impact of these events on the financial condition and liquidity of
FirstEnergy Corp. and/or its subsidiaries; issues concerning the
stability of domestic and foreign financial institutions and
counterparties with which we do business; and the risks and other
factors discussed from time to time in our United States Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, and other similar factors.
Dividends declared from time to time on FirstEnergy Corp.'s common
stock, and thereby on FirstEnergy Corp.'s preferred stock, during
any period may in the aggregate vary from prior periods due to
circumstances considered by FirstEnergy Corp.'s Board of Directors
at the time of the actual declarations. A security rating is not a
recommendation to buy or hold securities and is subject to revision
or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each
rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. These
forward-looking statements are also qualified by, and should be
read together with, the risk factors included in our filings with
the SEC, including but not limited to the most recent Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q, which such risk factors supersede the risk
factors contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on
Form 8-K. The foregoing review of factors also should not be
construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and
it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor
assess the impact of any such factor on our business or the extent
to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results
to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or
revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements
contained herein as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.