Work includes trimming along more than
3,400 miles of power lines
HOLMDEL,
N.J., April 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy
Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary Jersey Central Power & Light
(JCP&L) is trimming trees along more than 3,400 miles of power
lines across its 13-county service territory as part of its ongoing
efforts to help enhance electric service reliability. This
comprehensive vegetation management program is designed to help
keep power flowing to customers by helping to reduce tree-related
outages, such as those that can occur during severe
weather.
This year's $32.5 million plan is
the first of an annual $1.5 million
increase in tree trimming agreed to as part of a settlement with
the New Jersey Board of Public
Utilities (BPU). JCP&L will also spend an additional
$2.5 million for each of the next
five years to further expand the tree-trimming zones along 18
high-priority circuits throughout their central and northern
New Jersey service territory.
These circuits were identified through historical outage data.
Jim Fakult, President,
JCP&L: "Falling trees and branches are the number one
cause of power outages for our customers in New Jersey. Our year-round tree-trimming
efforts are one of the most effective proactive steps we can take
to help ensure safe, reliable and affordable electric service to
our customers, especially as we move into the summer storm
season."
Completed on a four-year cycle, JCP&L's tree-trimming
program includes inspecting vegetation near power lines to ensure
trees are pruned in a manner that helps preserve the health of the
tree while maintaining proper clearances around electrical
equipment. Tree trimming is conducted by certified forestry
contractors under the company's direction.
To learn more about JCP&L's vegetation management
efforts, visit
firstenergycorp.com/trees.
Since January 1, contractors have
trimmed trees along more than 638 miles of power lines, with a
total of 3,419 miles expected to be completed by year end.
While JCP&L's tree-trimming program is designed to
lower the risk of tree-related outages, work is limited to company
rights-of-way. In 2023, 86% of tree-related outages in JCP&L's
service territory were caused by trees located outside of these
rights of way. If you believe a tree poses a risk to power lines,
you can report it on JCP&L's website, and company
foresters can assess the situation.
JCP&L will trim trees in the following counties and
municipalities over the next two months:
- Burlington – Chesterfield, Mansfield, New Hanover, North
Hanover, Pemberton, Springfield, Wrightstown
- Hunterdon – Alexandria, Clinton, Delaware Twp., East Amwell, Flemington, Frenchtown, Holland Twp., Kingwood, Lebanon, Milford, Readington, Stockton, Tewksbury, West Amwell
- Mercer – East
Windsor, Hightstown
- Middlesex – Cranbury, Laurence
Harbor, Monroe, Old
Bridge
- Monmouth – Aberdeen,
Asbury Park, Avon-by-the-Sea, Bradley Beach, Englishtown, Howell, Manalapan, Matawan, Neptune
Twp., Neptune City,
Ocean Twp., Wall
- Morris – Chatham, Chatham Twp., Chester, Denville, Harding, Long Hill, Madison, Mountain
Lakes, Mt. Olive,
Parsippany-Troy Hills
- Ocean – Beachwood,
Berkeley, Brick, Island Heights, Jackson, Lakehurst, Lakewood, Manchester, Plumsted, Point Pleasant Boro,
South Toms River, Toms River
- Passaic – Ringwood,
Wanaque, Wayne
- Somerset – Bernards,
Bernardsville, Bridgewater, Far
Hills, Peapack and
Gladstone, Warren Twp.
- Sussex – Andover, Andover
Twp., Byram, Franklin, Fredon, Frelinghuysen, Green Twp.,
Stillwater, Walpack
- Union – Berkeley Heights, Springfield, Summit
- Warren – Allamuchy,
Blairstown, Hardwick, Hope, Independence, Knowlton, Washington
Crews are also continuing a multi-year effort to identify and
remove deteriorated ash trees that have been affected by the
Emerald Ash Borer. Nearly 53,000 dead and dying ash trees have been
removed in JCP&L's service area, primarily in northern
New Jersey, since the initiative
began in 2017.
JCP&L works with municipalities to proactively inform them
of vegetation management schedules. In addition, customers living
in areas along company rights-of-way are notified prior to work
being performed. To help further decrease tree-related outages,
JCP&L's foresters are also working to educate residents who
live near company equipment about the importance of properly
maintaining trees on their own property.
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. Follow JCP&L on X,
formerly known as Twitter, @JCP_L, on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/JCPandL or online at www.jcp-l.com
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving more than six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, West Virginia,
Maryland and New York. The company's transmission
subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission
lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow
FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on
X @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of workers using bucket trucks
to trim trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for
download on Flickr. A video explaining FirstEnergy's vegetation
management techniques can also be found on YouTube.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.