The improvements focus on the Hills neighborhood, an area historically prone to outages due to its steep terrain and legacy electrical hardware. By replacing overhead and underground lines, enhancing vegetation management, and installing automated sectionalizing devices, the utility has managed to isolate faults before they cascade into wider service failures. In the Upper Hills, residents have experienced a 52% reduction in outages, while the Lower Hills saw a 38% decrease, according to company data.
JCP&L Upgrades Cut Power Outages in Somerset County
Customers in Bedminster, Bernards, and Bernardsville are seeing a sharp decline in power disruptions following a $3 million infrastructure overhaul by Jersey Central Power & Light. The initiative, which targets aging equipment and improves grid resilience, has resulted in faster restoration times and significantly fewer service interruptions across the region.
FirstEnergy President of New Jersey Doug Mokoid credited the success to localized planning, noting that the upgrades stemmed from employee insights regarding specific neighborhood vulnerabilities. Beyond the Hills, the utility rebuilt infrastructure in Bernardsville that was previously compromised by 2023 tornado damage. By relocating lines to more accessible areas, crews can now reach and repair equipment 62% faster than before. These efforts in Somerset County represent a small slice of a broader $6.9 billion investment plan scheduled through 2030, aimed at modernizing the state's aging power distribution network.
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