New Jersey requires state approval of utility-planned transmission lines, with 120- or 180-day review
A law signed July 7, 2026 requires utilities to obtain a Board of Public Utilities certificate before building PJM 'supplemental' lines of 100 kV or more. Review runs 120 or 180 days and the Board may not consider environmental impacts. The certificate requirement starts 90 days after BPU rules or at the 19th month after enactment, whichever is earlier.
On July 7, 2026, the Governor approved the Advanced Grid Technologies Act, P.L. 2026, c. 34 (A5188, which replaced S4411), under which an electric public utility must apply to the Board of Public Utilities ("BPU") for a certificate of public convenience and necessity before constructing a "supplemental project" in New Jersey. The law sets a 120-day expedited track for projects that use advanced transmission technologies and a 180-day standard track for all others. It matters to anyone whose service date, interconnection or site depends on a transmission upgrade that a utility, rather than the regional grid operator, decided to build.
P.L. 2026, c. 34 (A5188/S4411), approved July 7, 2026; Advanced Grid Technologies Act