PSEG plans $3 billion in energy efficiency projects and 50,000 vehicle charging stations

NorthJersey

PSE&G's John Latka shows how high the storm surge from Sandy got at the substation in North Bergen along the Hudson River. Key equipment that had rested on the concrete pad has since been elevated far above that level to make the system more resilient in future storms.

PSEG plans to spend nearly $3 billion over the next five years on programs to improve energy efficiency, reduce electric use and, in the process, combat climate change.

The company also hopes to spend $2.5 billion to continue a sweeping effort to make the utility’s infrastructure more resilient to withstand another Sandy-like storm. And it plans to devote $300 million to develop a network of charging stations throughout New Jersey for electric vehicles.

The new initiatives add to previously approved plans to invest between $11.5 billion to $13.2 billion by 2022 to upgrade aging transmission infrastructure and improve its natural gas distribution system.

The new energy efficiency proposals, which PSEG expects to file with the state for approval later this year, would increase energy rates for PSE&G customers but would also potentially reduce customers’ bills because they would be using less energy. The company will detail the rate increases when it files its proposal with the state Board of Public Utilities.

“This energy efficiency program would be a win-win for the state,” PSEG chairman and CEO Ralph Izzo said in a statement. “This program will put New Jersey at the forefront of clean energy policy and will align the utility’s incentives with the rising expectations of our customers.

“This will help meet growing consumer desire to use less energy, to ensure the energy they use is cleaner, and to lower bills,” Izzo said.

PSEG Chairman and CEO Ralph Izzo in Woodland Park during an editorial board meeting with The Record on Feb. 7, 2018.

The energy efficiency efforts would build on an existing program PSE&G has that helps New Jersey hospitals reduce electricity use so they can invest the savings into medical care, said Paul Rosengren, a PSEG spokesman.

“We would now make that program more widespread to help individual customers,” Rosengren said. For instance, whenever PSE&G workers showed up to repair a customer’s furnace or fix a gas leak, they could offer free installation of a programmable thermostat that would help lower energy use and save the customer money, he said.

PSE&G also plans to spend $300 million to set up a network of up to 50,000 charging stations in residential areas, at workplaces and along traffic corridors throughout the state, Rosengren said. The company estimates that the 16,000 electric vehicles currently on New Jersey roads will climb to 275,000 or more by 2025. New Jersey currently has only about 200 charging stations, according to U.S. Department of Energy data.

The charging stations would also help address short surges in demand in an area. If a school bus was plugged in and charging overnight, the utility could reverse the flow and pull the energy out of the bus if there was a sudden spike in demand, then recharge the bus later, Rosengren said.

In addition, the company will spend $100 million on large energy storage systems that will enable greater development of renewable resources, and enhance resiliency.

John Latka, a senior vice president at PSE&G, shows how high the storms surge was from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 which flooded key substations. The equipment has since been elevated to the platform above his head at the Sewaren Generating Station in Woodbridge.

The $2.5 billion to make the company’s infrastructure more resilient to major storms builds on an initial $1.5 billion for such improvements, Rosengren said.

When Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, the damage it caused cut off power to 2 million of PSE&G's 2.2 million customers in New Jersey. Wind-blown trees pulled down many power lines, but more devastating was Sandy's storm surge, which inundated 21 substations.

To prevent against future storm surge from the Hackensack River, PSE&G elevated key equipment after Sandy at its Hackensack substation.

To make the PSE&G distribution system more resilient, the company launched "Energy Strong," a series of projects that included elevating substation equipment and making it possible to switch off substation breakers remotely from central offices so workers don't have to be exposed to a storm surge.

PSE&G also replaced 250 miles of cast iron gas pipes with plastic ones, so that 90,000 customers tied to those lines won't lose gas service from floodwaters seeping into formerly leak-prone pipes.

Superstorm Sandy:5 years later, New Jersey is still storm proofing

Renewable energy:New Jersey, the Saudi Arabia of parking lots, gets another solar canopy project

Nuclear power:Nuclear subsidy approved, could cost NJ ratepayers billions

The company has eliminated, raised or rebuilt 18 substations or switching stations that had flooded, including one along the Hudson River in North Bergen and another along the Hackensack River in Hackensack.

Because of the improvements, if Sandy hit today, about 380,000 fewer PSE&G customers would lose power, the company estimates. When all upgrades are finished over the next few years, that number would rise to 490,000 fewer Sandy-affected customers.

And those who did lose power would be restored more quickly, the company says.