JCP&L building floodwalls to protect substations

Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) is in the process of building two flood walls to protect the Sussex and Canoe Brook substations in Sussex County, N.J., from rising floodwaters.

The flood walls are designed to protect the substation in the event of flooding, which, in turn, will prevent power outages. The company is building a four-foot-high, L-shaped concrete wall with an automatic, waterproof gate that has been constructed around each substation. Pressure from rising water causes the gate to raise up automatically, so there is no need for electronic sensors and switches or operator action. Work at the Sussex substation was finished earlier this year, while construction of the Canoe Brook substation floodwall will be done by the end of November 2020.

“Identifying and addressing the potential for flooding that can impact our substations and cause outages for customers has been an area of focus for JCP&L,” Alex Patton, vice president, Operations for JCP&L, said. “Construction of these specially designed substation walls helps eliminate the flooding concern and advances our ongoing efforts to ensure more resilient and reliable electricity for our customers through the JCP&L Reliability Plus infrastructure improvement plan.”

Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the company installed a similar floodwall system with two automatic gates at its Monmouth Beach substation. Since then, that substation has not experienced significant flooding.

JCP&L, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, serves 1.1 million customers in New Jersey.