Hardyston Township officials are aware of the reoccurring power outages that have plagued the residents of the Stockholm section of Hardyston and have actively been engaged with JCP&L representatives regarding the issues.

In a recent meeting with JCP&L representatives and officials from Hardyston, Jefferson and West Milford, JCP&L laid out a significant capital improvement project that will improve performance and enhance reliability for customers, including many Hardyston residents, over the next year.  

Given the recent uptick in outages, JCP&L has identified and prioritized improvements to several circuits that are part of the Cozy Lake substation. The goal of the improvement plan is to increase reliability, diversify the load across circuits and improve the overall customer experience.  The timing for the project has been accelerated in order to address the recent issues.

Phase 1 of the project involves extensive tree trimming and removal. JCP&L’s vegetation management team have recently identified over 150 trees for trimming or removal, and trimming and removal is currently underway. The trimming and removal of hazardous trees should help to improve reliability in the short term.

For the long term, the larger portion of the project, which will include 18 to19 million dollars in investment, will involve pole replacements, new installations, system automation and other improvements to harden the system.

A significant part of the project will involve transferring approximately 300 customers from one circuit to another circuit. This will decrease the load on the current circuit and improve reliability. In addition, it will allow for a loop in the circuit that will transfer customers to a third circuit in the event of an outage on the first circuit, creating redundancy and enhanced reliability.

The project will also include the installation of reclosers. Reclosers decrease restoration time and allow for portions of the system to be reenergized while repairs are made to the portion of the circuit that caused the outrage.

Ultimately, one of goals of the project is to create sectionalization within the system so that when outages do occur the number of customers experiencing a prolonged outage is reduced.  

The project is currently finalizing design review. It is expected that the project will be bid in April with construction starting in June of 2025. It is anticipated that the project will take approximately one year to be fully implemented.

It is important to note that these proposed improvements are currently funded and are not part of the EnergizeNJ improvement plan currently pending approval from the Board of Public Utilities.

Details from JCP&L on the NJ Reliability Improvement Plan for Cozy Lake can be found by clicking the link below or watching the recent News12 feature found here.