Jersey Central Power and Light to install devices on power lines to limit outages
Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) is undertaking a $97 million initiative to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages.
Part of JCP&L’s Reliability Plus Infrastructure Investment Program calls for the installation of 1,700 new automated reclosing devices on power lines across its service territory. This device, called “Trip Saver,” works like a circuit breaker in a home with the added benefit of automatically re-energizing a power line within seconds.
“Trip Saver installations are just one of many JCP&L Reliability Plus enhancements designed to help reduce the frequency of power outages and modernize the electric grid for JCP&L’s customers,” Jim Fakult, president of JCP&L, said. “The addition of these devices will make restoring service an automatic process rather than sending a crew to investigate. This new technology is safer, more efficient, and cost-effective.”
The devices are installed on local neighborhood power lines. When there is a temporary issue on the neighborhood line, such as a tree limb blowing into the line, the Trip Saver responds in seconds, automatically re-energizing the line to prevent an extended outage in the neighborhood. It also isolates the outage from the main power line to avoid disruptions across a larger area. If the Trip Saver senses a more serious issue, like a fallen tree on the power line, it will isolate the outage to that area and limit the number of affected customers.
The company is expecting to complete all 1,700 installations by the end of 2020. You can watch a video of utility personnel installing a Trip Saver device on YouTube.
JCP&L, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., serves 1.1 million customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren.
