Resiliency in the Face of Crisis and Change

NJ utilities prepare for surging demand amid more climate challenges.

By Meg Fry, Contributing Writer On Apr 1, 2025

Although Superstorm Sandy occurred in New Jersey more than a decade ago, Richard Henning said the aftermath has driven critical utility upgrades statewide ever since. 

“We suffered damage unlike we’d ever seen before,” Henning, president and CEO of the New Jersey Utility Association (NJUA), says. “Our entire utility population learned just how paramount resiliency against these new climate conditions would be to safe, reliable, and affordable service for customers moving forward.” 

The question that will therefore be top of mind at the NJUA’s annual conference in May, Henning says, is, “Are we ready for the next storm?”

In response to Superstorm Sandy and more than a decade of devastating natural disasters both in state and nationwide, New Jersey utilities have consistently been investing in and implementing critical upgrades to make infrastructure safer, more reliable, and adaptable against the increasing frequency of severe weather emergencies such as hurricanes, flash floods, extreme heat, wildfires, blizzards, and more. 

Proactivity is always the best protection, agrees Christopher Hoenig, senior communication representative with Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L). 

“[For example, we spend] more than $30 million annually in vegetation management and tree trimming,” Hoenig says. “Additionally, we have taken steps to mitigate risks posed by threats such as rivers that are reaching flood levels during storms that were not previously seen. 

“For instance, at one of our substations in the Morristown area, we are investing $78 million in raising and upgrading equipment due to flooding risks posed by the Whippany River,” he adds.

This summer’s drought also led JCP&L to reduce the risk of its electrical grid equipment contributing to the spread of wildfires. 

“It was the first time our company has taken these steps, which included disabling certain automated devices to reduce the potential for arcing [when an electrical current jumps from one connection to another] near dry vegetation,” Hoenig says. “We also coordinated closely with first responders on the ground to ensure their safety as they battled wildfires in proximity to power lines.”

Overall, New Jersey utilities have been upgrading, enhancing, retrofitting, and modernizing existing infrastructure with stronger, more robust and longer-lasting materials able to withstand both greater demand and extreme weather events across the board. 

However, regular maintenance and more frequent inspection can be a full-time job in and of itself for larger systems, says Marijke Shugrue, senior directors, corporate communications with Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G).

“Much of our energy infrastructure has been in place for more than 50-plus years, with some of it more than 90 years old, [which] takes a lot of work to maintain,” Shugrue says. “Our approach combines planning, resource optimization, and a focus on the reliability and integrity of our system, so that we meet the needs of both our current customers, as well as new ones, and confirm we’re meeting industry standards on reliability and energy levels.” 

Last year, PSE&G reached a key milestone by installing more than 2 million smart meters as part of its Smart Meter Program aimed at enhancing insights and supporting faster outage recovery for both residential and business customers. 

“Data provides smoother and more direct communications and can mean fewer PSE&G crew and truck dispatches [that] are more quickly and precisely targeted to restoration venues,” Shugrue says.

Like PSE&G, Atlantic City Electric also installed specialized equipment including smart switches, capacitor banks, and re-closers to automatically detect issues and restore service faster by automatically isolating damage. 

“As residents conduct business from home and switch to electric vehicles, they are becoming more dependent on the electric grid and increasingly expect uninterrupted service,” says Phil Vavala, region president of Atlantic City Electric Company (ACE).

Key projects to help modernize the local energy grid and enhance reliability included upgrades to existing substations, rebuilds of critical transmission lines, and the continued implementation of ACE’s Smart Energy Network to enable more efficient integration of new energy technologies for customers, Vavala adds. 

“Ongoing investments to build a smarter, stronger, and cleaner energy grid support a 45% overall decrease in outages over the past 10 years. [And] these efforts contributed to customers experiencing the lowest frequency of electric outages ever in 2023,” Vavala says. 

As the New Jersey government continues to invest in artificial intelligence, data centers, and electric vehicles, Henning says it’s most wise for utilities to continue addressing two challenges with one upgrade – climate change and increasing customer demand. 

He says, “NJUA has been pushing for an all-encompassing look into clean energy, including the use of new technologies such as hydrogen-injected fuel systems, fusion technologies, wind and solar powers. We can’t rely on just one or two of these power technologies – we need to be factoring in all types to be able to produce enough power moving forward.” 

Henning warns, however, that while utilities are the ones investing capital into more resilient and robust distribution technologies, it’s the regional transmission organizations that are concerned about power production capabilities as coal and natural gas is reduced and cleaner energy systems have yet to come online. 

“Even though utilities will not be the ones raising the rates – because they’re not actually producing the power – the only bill customers are going to see is from them,” Henning says.

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