JCP&L Strengthens Communities Through Diversity, Sustainability

On Dec 13, 2021

Disclaimer: Sponsored content articles do not reflect the opinions of New Jersey Business magazine or the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

In addition to providing safe, reliable electric service to more than 1.1 million customers, Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) is dedicated to strengthening northern and central New Jersey communities.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a core value at JCP&L and its parent company FirstEnergy. As part of its DEI efforts, the company is providing opportunities to small, women-owned; minority-owned; HUBZone; veteran-owned; and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses through its supplier diversity program. In 2020, FirstEnergy spent $482 million with diverse suppliers and earned the 2021 Regional Council Member Done Deals award from the Women’s Business Enterprise Center – East (WBEC-East) for the $54.8 million spent with women-owned businesses certified by WBEC-East.

Additionally, the company works to attract, develop and retain a diverse, high-performing workforce. JCP&L teams with Brookdale Community College and Raritan Valley Community College to offer its award-winning Power Systems Institute (PSI) training program for future line and substation workers. Scholarships are available for diverse candidates to assist with living expenses while they are enrolled in PSI.

JCP&L is also committed to supporting New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan. The company’s proposed program of incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) will support and encourage the development of EV charging infrastructure, accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles while providing benefits for JCP&L’s customers.

JCP&L has submitted an energy efficiency plan that aids in cutting peak energy demand and reduces the energy its customers consume. The utility also proposed a transmission project that would carry clean, wind-generated electricity from offshore wind farms to the grid utilizing existing infrastructure and rights-of-way, resulting in no greenfield development.

Protecting and preserving the environment is also a key part of JCP&L’s mission and business strategy. The company has twice been named to the New Jersey Sustainable Business Registry by the New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection and has been honored with an Environmental Leadership Award by The Commerce & Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) and COMMERCE Magazine.

By advancing diversity, equity and inclusion and taking steps to help customers and communities thrive in a carbon-neutral world, JCP&L is working to make customers’ lives brighter, the environment better and our communities stronger.

Disclaimer: Sponsored content articles do not reflect the opinions of New Jersey Business magazine or the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

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