New Jersey Natural Gas seeking $507M infrastructure upgrade
New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is planning to invest $507 million over the next five years on infrastructure projects that will enhance the reliability of its natural gas delivery and information technology (IT) systems.
The plan was submitted last week to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and is pending approval.
“As a regulated utility and lifeline service provider, we have a fundamental responsibility to provide our customers with safe and reliable service,” Steve Westhoven, president and COO of New Jersey Resources, which owns NJNG, said. “This obligation is what drives our investments and our commitment to proactively strengthen our systems, improve our operations and continue to exceed our customers’ expectations.”
NJNG’s Investment Infrastructure Plan consists of several natural gas transmission and distribution replacement and enhancement projects, including replacing over seven miles of main and installing a new regulator station, among other projects. It also includes an investment in IT to replace their existing systems, which were installed in the mid-1990s. The IT upgrade will strengthen the infrastructure the NJNG team uses to serve its customers. It will feature new billing, customer service, asset management, work order, and accounting systems. It will also strengthen NJNG’s cybersecurity program.
Once approved, all the work will be completed over a five-year period.
The company said there will be six annual adjustments to its base rate with the first change expected in October 2020 to pay for the investment costs. The company says a typical residential heating customer using 1,000 therms per year could see an average annual increase of approximately $18.35 or 1.8 percent over the recovery period.
