Building New Jersey's Smart Electric Infrastructure
Originally published on PSEG ENERGIZE!
If you are like me, you have come to expect the power to be there when you need it. That’s why my teammates and I are hard at work behind the scenes to enhance the reliability of your electric service and introduce new tools, like the PSE&G mobile app, to make it easier for you to manage your account.
In 2021, we were proud to have received the Mid-Atlantic ReliabilityOne® award for the 20th consecutive year. But we aren’t resting on our laurels. Earlier this year, as part of our Energy Strong program, we installed the last of the 1,464 reclosers called for under the program. Reclosers are smart devices that break circuits into smaller sections. When a fault occurs on a circuit, they allow us to reroute power around the fault, reducing the number of customers who would otherwise lose service. In addition, crews completed the upgrading of some 2,300 older reclosers, which are now equipped with wireless communication devices so that we can operate all the reclosers remotely.
We still have more work to do to ensure our electric system keeps pace with your changing needs. For instance, like many of our customers, you may be considering purchasing an electric vehicle. Forecasters expect the number of electric vehicles in New Jersey to increase twentyfold by 2030. That’s why we are upgrading electric substations across our service territory, moving customers to higher capacity circuits that will help ensure you have the power you need when and where you need it.
And we are installing smart meters to help our customers better understand and manage their electric power usage, while also helping us further speed restoration should you lose power for any reason. We have installed 105,000 smart meters to date, with thousands more being deployed each month through 2024.
When you come to work at PSE&G, as I did 36 years ago, you quickly learn that there are two priorities that guide everything we do. The first is to always work safely and ensure the safety of your co-workers and our customers. The second is to keep the lights on for you and the 2.3 million other electric customers in the communities we serve. That’s why we continuously improve our electric system and why we prepare year-round for extreme weather to maintain reliable service for our customers.
Thomas McCarter founded PSE&G in 1903 with the goal of making New Jersey a better place in which to live and work. Today, that commitment is reflected in our vision: “To power a future where people use less energy, and it’s cleaner, safer and delivered more reliably than ever.”
That’s a commitment that my teammates across PSE&G share.
