Over the next five years, New Jersey Natural Gas will spend over $100 million to upgrade its distribution system, and to harden it against damage such as what took place during Superstorm Sandy. These upgrades consists of six specific projects, including installation of a new high-pressure feed to Mantoloking. The full press release can be found below.
WALL, N.J. – New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) received approval today from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) for its New Jersey Reinvestment in System Enhancements (NJ RISE) program. Through NJ RISE, NJNG will invest $102.5 million for six capital projects designed to enhance the resiliency of its natural gas distribution and transmission systems and help mitigate the impact of major weather events in the future. NJNG filed for these upgrades in response to the BPU’s March 20, 2013 Board Order seeking proposals to support and protect New Jersey’s utility infrastructure so it may better withstand the effects of future storms.
“Superstorm Sandy caused an unprecedented amount of damage throughout New Jersey, especially in Monmouth and Ocean counties — the heart of our service territory,” said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Natural Gas. “The storm hardening and mitigation investments approved under NJ RISE will minimize the impacts of extreme weather events on our customers and improve the resiliency of our system.”
Due to the extensive damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, NJNG was forced to curtail service from Bay Head to Seaside Park and Long Beach Island in Ocean County, as well as isolated areas of coastal Monmouth County. NJNG re-pressurized or replaced 270 miles of main, installed one mile of 12-inch main, addressed 3,600 anomalies, rebuilt or replaced 51,000 meters, completed 121,000 service assessments and restored service to every customer who was safely able to accept it less than eight weeks after the storm.
Comprised of six system enhancement projects, NJ RISE is designed to help mitigate the impacts to NJNG’s system and customers from future extreme weather events. The projects include: the installation of 1.5 miles of distribution main in Sea Bright as a secondary feed; the moving of a regulator station off the barrier islands and installation of a new high-pressure feed to Mantoloking; the installation of a secondary feed from Toms River to the South Seaside Peninsula; the installation of six miles of distribution main as a secondary feed to Long Beach Island; the installation of a supplemental regulator station on Long Beach Island and the installation of approximately 35,000 excess flow valves, which restricts the flow of natural gas when there is a change in pressure on the service line, in potential storm-affected areas. These upgrades will help minimize the number and duration of outages, improve NJNG’s ability to respond to and control service disruptions and enhance the safety and reliability of its system.
There will be no change to customers’ bills this winter. In the fall of 2015, NJNG will seek to recover costs associated with NJ RISE through an adjustment to its base rates. Additional cost recovery will be addressed in NJNG’s next base rate case scheduled to be filed no later than November 15, 2015.
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