Underwater Sled: JCP&L Replaces Transmission Line with New Trenching Method

Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp.,  has completed the replacement of an underwater high-voltage transmission line, stretching more than a mile across Barnegat Bay along the Tunney-Mathis Bridges, to enhance electric service reliability to New Jersey's barrier islands.  Dredging operations in recent years are believed to have damaged the underwater transmission line that ran through the area, necessitating its replacement. The new 34.5-kV line is one of four high-voltage power sources serving approximately 30,000 JCP&L customers on the barrier islands.

Following are images of the trenching sled used in the process, a new method for JCP&L.