JCP&L gets the green light to install networked meters and spend more than $400 million
TOM JOHNSON, NJ Spotlight
Jersey Central Power & Light now has the approval to spend $433 million over the next six years to install smart meters in homes and businesses of its 1.1 million customers.
In a 5-0 vote, the state Board of Public Utilities agreed Wednesday to allow the state’s second-largest electric utility to begin installing the technology, known as advanced metering technology, beginning next year. Smart meters create an integrated, two-way communications network allowing customers to make more informed decisions about how and when they use energy.
“It is a very significant development,’’ said BPU Commissioner Bob Gordon, referring to the board’s action.
The technology, widely used in the rest of the country, has the potential to reduce customers’ bills by enabling them to curb energy consumption at times when electricity prices are highest as well as speeding restoration during widespread power outages.
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