Hoboken City Council approves resolution for PSEG to redevelop power grid

<p>The Hoboken City Council approved a resolution Wednesday that will allow PSEG to start a multimillion-dollar project to redevelop the city&rsquo;s power grid.</p>

News 12 Staff

Apr 20, 2017, 2:47 AM

Updated 2,698 days ago

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Hoboken City Council approves resolution for PSEG to redevelop power grid
The Hoboken City Council approved a resolution Wednesday that will allow PSEG to start a multimillion-dollar project to redevelop the city’s power grid.
The project is supposed to prevent PSEG substations from flooding and causing major power problems in the city, which is what happened when Hoboken flooded during Superstorm Sandy.
The current substations are surrounded by cement blocks and sandbags, as flooding is a constant concern. Now Hoboken and PSEG want to combine the substations at the Madison Street location and raise them to keep away floodwaters.
The $175 million project will mean that Hoboken will have to give up some land, which was one of several issues with the deal.
Some Hoboken residents tell News 12 New Jersey that they are concerned about losing power, but that they are also concerned that the utility company gets city land at a good rate, without certain promises to city residents.
“Let’s exact some value back from PSEG and make them responsible for widening the road and providing buried poles,” says resident Julia MacDermott.
But other resident say that improving the city’s power grid is also important.
“We need electricity. You can't live in this town with $3 million homes without electricity,” says Mary Ondrejka.
The City Council did say that they wanted to consider widening roads and preventing construction traffic during rush hours for the project. It could start in the coming months with a goal of finishing the major building phase by the end of 2018.