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FirstEnergy's (FE) Subsidiary Upgrades Eatontown Substation

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FirstEnergy Corporation's (FE - Free Report) subsidiary, Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) announced the completion of the transmission system reinforcement project in Eatontown.

This $4.8 million project aims at developing customer service reliability for over 4,000 consumers in the Monmouth County area. The work was carried out on 70 new poles between existing substations in Eatontown and included installation of a 1.6-mile section of transmission line. The equipment along the existing distribution line was also upgraded.

Some new substation equipment such as a circuit breaker and new protective relay devices were also added. The design of these devices will help the service provider to remotely monitor operations. In case of an outage, these can automatically reset and reduce the duration and number of customers affected.

This is a part of JCP&L's previously announced plans under which it aims to spend about $359 million in 2017. The plan involves enhancement and maintenance of a strong electrical system which can meet the future load growth in its 13-county northern and central New Jersey service area.

FirstEnergy’s Focus on Electric System Upgrade

As a part of its ambitious “Energizing the Future” plan, FirstEnergy wants to upgrade and expand its regulated transmission capabilities and has plans to invest about $1 billion in 2017. Customer satisfaction became a huge part of the company’s to-do list.

In a regulated yet highly competitive utility market, customer satisfaction is the safest measure that will lead to the success for the companies. Most of the utility service providers are working hard to bring down the outage duration. Such measures will make the users happy and will also garner new customer for the utility service providers.

Earlier in May, Ohio Edison, one of its subsidiaries announced a new $2.4-million substation near West Jefferson, OH. (Read more: FirstEnergy Adds Substation, Fortifies Ohio Infrastructure)

Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec), another subsidiary of FirstEnergy, announced a budget of $3 million for repair and replacement of nearly 2,300 wooden utility poles this year.

Investment Across Utility Space

Most of the utility service providers are planning to enhance their customer experience through strategical investments for upgrading the existing substations and expanding their service territory.

PPL Corp. (PPL - Free Report) has a capital investment plan, which primarily focuses on infrastructure construction projects for generation, transmission and distribution. The company projects total capital expenditure to be approximately $15.9 billion between 2017 and 2021.

Similarly, Alliant Energy (LNT - Free Report) plans to invest nearly $11.3 billion during the 2016–2025 period with nearly $1.40 billion of capital expenditure planned for 2017. The company is successfully completing major construction projects on time and at or below budget.

Price Movement

In the last one month, FirstEnergy gained 1.5% while the Zacks categorized Utility - Electric Power Industry gained 4.1%.

The company broadening regulated base and growing transmission lines are expected to boost earnings.

Zacks Rank and Other Stock to Consider

FirstEnergy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the utility space is Avangrid, Inc. (AGR - Free Report) , carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Avangrid, Inc. delivered a positive earnings surprise of 7.35% in the first quarter. Its Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 moved up nearly 0.5% to $2.21 per share in the last 60 days.

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