JCP&L will upgrade transmission infrastructure in New Jersey, allowing thousands of megawatts of power to be added to the grid.
January 16, 2025
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Jigar Shah
Former Director, Loan Programs Office
Jigar Shah served as Director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from March 2021 to January 2025. He led and directed LPO’s loan authority to support deployment of innovative clean energy, advanced transportation, and Tribal energy projects in the United States. Prior, Shah was co-founder and President at Generate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decarbonization solutions through the use of low-cost infrastructure-as-a service financing. Prior to Generate Capital, Shah founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered “pay as you save” solar financing. After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change.
Shah was also featured in TIME's list of the "100 Most Influential People" in 2024.
Originally from Illinois, Shah holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois-UC and an MBA from the University of Maryland College Park.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced today a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $716 million to Jersey Central Power & Light Company (JCP&L). The loan guarantee would help fund the New Jersey Clean Energy Corridor, a project to upgrade and expand transmission infrastructure to accommodate planned generation in New Jersey to meet growing electricity demand. JCP&L is the second-largest electric utility operating a transmission and distribution business in New Jersey, serving 1.2 million ratepayers. The project comprises forty miles of transmission and substation upgrades and expansions. If finalized, this project would create more than 230 construction jobs and further JCP&L and FirstEnergy’s efforts to hire additional full-time employees. JCP&L submitted its application to LPO in November 2023.
The New Jersey Clean Energy Corridor is expected to enable the addition of approximately 4,890 MW of clean, resilient power to the grid. The upgraded transmission infrastructure will enable nearly 20 million MWh of clean energy production annually––enough electricity to power approximately 1.6 million homes a year.
All electric utilities receiving an Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) loan must provide assurance to DOE that financial benefits received from the financing will be passed on to the customers of that utility. JCP&L’s proposed loan is expected to reduce upward pressure on electricity rates for ratepayers from project costs as a result of the reduced cost of debt associated with LPO financing. The project will produce an estimated $150 million in savings for JCP&L ratepayers over the life of the loan.
The JCP&L project includes substation upgrades and expansions, transmission line rebuilds, and transmission line reconductorings. The project will help the state reach its goal to be powered by 100% clean energy by 2035.
LPO borrowers are required to develop and ultimately implement a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan (CBP). CBPs ensure borrowers meaningfully engage with community and labor stakeholders to create good-paying jobs and improve the well-being of the local community and workers.
JCP&L is committed to selecting union contractors, building on the company’s track record of working with local trades. The company is creating a two-year paid apprenticeship program for lineworkers and substation electricians, which will support 160 workers annually. It will provide trainees with more than 70 weeks of fieldwork opportunities.
FirstEnergy Corp., JCP&L’s parent company, has developed a series of community partnerships to help streamline equitable recruiting. The company established the FirstEnergy Ambassador Network to build relationships with colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Today’s announcement is the latest EIR project under LPO’s flexible loan facility and disbursement approach tailored for regulated, investment-grade utilities. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act created the EIR category under the of Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program (Section 1706). EIR supports projects that retool, repower, repurpose, or replace energy infrastructure that has ceased operations or that enable operating energy infrastructure to avoid, reduce, utilize, or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions. The qualifying operating energy infrastructure for the New Jersey Clean Energy Corridor is the existing electricity transmission circuit.
While this conditional commitment indicates DOE’s intent to provide a loan guarantee to finance the project, DOE and the company must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the Department enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan guarantee.