By Kenny Walter
Staff Writer
RED BANK- A 10-mile stretch along NJ Transit train tracks between Red Bank and Aberdeen was narrowed down from several locations as the best choice for a 230-kilovolt transmission line.
Scott Humphrys, Monmouth County Reliability Project siting manager, said Jersey Central Power & Lighting (JCP&L) considered 17 sites for the third transmission line that is being constructed to improve reliability and limit interruptions of service.
“What came out of this study was the overall impact, the rail route option had the least overall impact,” Humphrys said. “One of the things we did take into consideration was there was less of an impact to homeowners than say Route 35 does.
“Route 35 would have resulted in taking at least nine parcels and homes where we would have had to buy them and tear them down. The rail route takes zero homes, it is all within existing New Jersey Transit right of way.”
Humphrys said each site was graded based on several factors including impact to residents and environmental impact.
The proposal, which is dubbed the Monmouth County Reliability Project, will include a new, nearly 10-mile, 230-kV transmission line and substation enhancements along NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coastline that will benefit approximately 214,000 power customers and cost approximately $75 million.
The transmission line will begin at a substation in Aberdeen and will follow the NJ Transit corridor right-of-way through Hazlet, Holmdel and Middletown before ending at the substation in Red Bank.
Humphrys said the project was requested by PJM Interconnection, who is the electrical grid operator in the area.
“If the project does not get built PJM fines JCP&L,” he said. “I don’t know if non-construction is an option, I know the penalties are extremely steep.”
During an editorial board meeting at Greater Media Newspapers on June 16, Anthony Hurley, JCP&L vice president of operations, said the project benefits a large amount of customers in Monmouth County.
“This line comes in and provides that redundancy and improves reliability for almost 214,000 customers,” Hurley said.
Earlier this month JCP&L hosted three open houses aimed at giving concerned citizens a chance to ask questions and get information from professionals involved in the project. However, many residents opposing the project have formed Residents Against Giant Electric (RAGE) and have expressed concerns regarding the health and safety for those who live closest to the proposed transmission line.
Kyle King, president of electric power engineering firm K&R Consulting, said many residents do not realize there are electromagnetic fields everywhere in modern society and he said the transmission line does not pose any additional health and safety risk.
“People are generally concerned about things that they are not familiar with or that they can’t see and touch,” King said. “An electromagnetic field is not unusual thing at all.
“The major misconception that people have is that their existing electromagnetic field levels is zero and if we build the transmission line they will be very, very high after that.”
King also said there already is electromagnetic fields in the right of way because of the equipment needed for the trains to run on the North Jersey Coast Line.
In order for the project to move forward JCP&L would need approvals from both the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities [BPU] and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. Hurley said when the BPU application is officially filed, which is expected by the middle of July, the public will be given another opportunity to sound off on the project during a public hearing. Humphrys said as part of the application process JCP&L would do a study on the impact the proposal has on property values, a frequently cited concern of RAGE.
The project is part of JCP&L’s multi-year, $250 million “Energizing the Future” transmission system reliability enhancement program.
JCP&L serves 1.1 million New Jersey customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren.
