Jersey Central Power & Light faces a $44.1M proposed penalty as New Jersey regulators are moving ahead with a case over the company’s failure to meet reliability standards for three consecutive years. The vote, which occurred today, set the issue up for a hearing and appointed Commissioner Christine Guhl-Sadovy to preside. To be clear, no penalty has yet been imposed and a date for the hearing isn’t set yet, but it’s a strong hint at what BPU Staff thinks JCP&L needs to pony up.
We first reported on the case in August of last year when the BPU ordered JCP&L to explain why it shouldn’t be fined for failing to meet minimum reliability standards for 2022 through 2024.
According to the original order:
In 2022, JCP&L exceeded the permitted outage-frequency level in both its Northern and Central regions.
In 2023, the company exceeded restoration-time standards in both regions and exceeded the outage-frequency standard in its Northern region.
In 2024, JCP&L exceeded the restoration-time standard in its Northern region and the outage-frequency standard in both regions.
The companywide numbers aren’t great either.
JCP&L’s average restoration time increased from 118.81 minutes in 2022 to 147.3 minutes in 2023 and 160.3 minutes in 2024.
The average number of sustained outages per customer increased from 1.46 in 2022 to 1.48 in 2023 and 1.95 in 2024.
JCP&L’s own 2024 report showed a ten-year high across every major outage category, including outages caused by equipment, trees, animals, lightning, vehicles and unknown or other causes.
The BPU alleged that the company failed to take reasonable measures to meet the reliability standards and may not have had sufficient programs, resources, inspections or maintenance practices in place to address the problem.
Regulators also alleged that JCP&L failed to adequately examine its equipment and circuits for the causes of systemic outages or demonstrate that it implemented the corrective measures required under state rules.
JCP&L filed its formal answer on October 10, 2025 after receiving a one-month extension from the Board.
According to the July 15 order, they denied all but one of the allegations.
On April 13, 2026, the BPU Staff informed JCP&L that it believed a penalty was warranted and that it intended to recommend a fine of $44.1 million.
Three days later, JCP&L responded that it disagreed with the size of the proposed penalty.
The company said it was willing to work with Board Staff toward a resolution that addressed the BPU’s concerns, provided direct and lasting benefits to customers and preserved JCP&L’s ability to continue investing in reliability and grid improvements, which suggests that the power company may be seeking a negotiated resolution involving customer benefits.
For now, the BPU decided to keep the matter for a hearing. Organizations, municipalities or other entities that want to get involved must file a motion by August 12.
Locally, New Providence and Berkeley Heights have had their share of concerns connected to JCP&L with regard to reliability.
In June, we published a report from a local resident that showed more than 400 reported outage events affecting one or both towns. Berkeley Heights resident Michael Leblond has also repeatedly written to local officials and JCP&L about outages affecting his home and the surrounding area.
In May, he reported that his family had experienced more than 50 outages since moving to Berkeley Heights in 2009. By June, he reported four outages in six weeks and nine affecting his home over an 18-month period.
Those resident reports aren’t connected to what’s going on between the BPU and JCP&L, but they illustrate local concerns connected to the broader reliability problems being examined statewide.
We’ll find out if other municipalities or orgs want to take part in the proceeding by August 12 – The Division of Rate Counsel is already listed as a party in the case.
After that, the Board is expected to establish additional procedures for testimony, evidence, motions and potentially settlement discussions.
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