New Martinsville substation reduces power outages in New Jersey

Jersey Central Power and Light’s Martinsville Substation, which went into service in June, helped significantly decreased the number of power outages caused by the recent Tropical Storm Isaias.

The substation, located in Warren Township, increases the electric system’s operational flexibility by creating multiple paths to provide power to surrounding substations. Consequently, power remained available throughout the storm to local substations serving customers in Warren Township and Bernards Township, Bridgewater Township, and Bedminster. Without the new substation, the result would have likely been a lengthy service interruption to up to 9,200 customers in the area. In addition, it allowed JCP&L to work more quickly and effectively in restoring power in other areas.

“JCP&L remains committed to service reliability, and we continue to proactively plan infrastructure investments to enhance the strength of the electric system,” Jim Fakult, president of JCP&L, said. “The Martinsville Substation is an example of how infrastructure investments can continue to reduce the number of customers impacted by storm outages as well as shorten the length of outages when they do occur.”

Construction on the Martinsville Substation began in October 2019 as part of FirstEnergy’s Energizing the Future transmission investment initiative. JCP&L is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., serving more than 1.1 million New Jersey customers.