Going Solar in JCP&L Territory
1.1 million customers across 13 NJ counties — from the Highlands to the Shore. Lower supply rate than PSE&G, faster interconnection, and a few specific gotchas worth knowing before you sign.
Where JCP&L Serves
JCP&L is a FirstEnergy subsidiary serving central and western New Jersey — approximately 1.1 million customers across all or part of 13 NJ counties.
JCP&L's territory covers all or part of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties. Big towns: Toms River, Brick, Howell, Freehold, Middletown, Morristown, Long Branch, Lakewood. The official JCP&L zip code list (PDF) is your tiebreaker if your address sits on a territory boundary.
JCP&L's Interconnection Rules
Same three-level framework as the other NJ utilities, applied per FirstEnergy's NJ tariff schedules. Residential is almost always Level 1.
| Item | JCP&L Detail |
|---|---|
| Tariff / portal | FirstEnergy FEConnect — NJ Interconnection portal handles Level 1, 2, 3. |
| Level 1 (up to 10 kW) | No application fee. Inverter-based, no storage. Most residential systems. |
| Level 2 (up to 2,000 kW) | $50 application + $1 per kW. |
| Level 3 (anything that doesn't fit Level 1 or 2) | $100 application + $2 per kW. |
| Interconnection email | JC_interconnection@firstenergycorp.com for status questions. |
| Net metering rate | Full retail credit. PTC $0.146/kWh through . Annual true-up at PJM wholesale. |
| Capacity context | NJ statewide cap of 2.9% of utility peak demand is a trigger, not a firm cutoff — net metering remains available. |
| 2026 rule update | BPU Docket QO21010085 modernized interconnection effective : dispute resolution, pre-application feasibility, mandatory web portal. |
Before signing: have your installer run your address on the JCP&L Solar Accommodation Map. Coastal sections of Ocean and Monmouth have circuits at or near saturation.
What You Earn in JCP&L Territory
SREC-II / ADI
$76–95 per MWh for 15 years. Same statewide program as the other utilities. A typical 8 kW system earns $760–950/year.
Net Metering 1:1
Full retail credit at JCP&L PTC $0.146/kWh (residential, through 8/31/26). Monthly rollover, annual true-up at wholesale.
0% Sales Tax + 0% Property Tax
NJ state law applies in JCP&L territory. ~$1,740 saved at install. No property tax assessment uptick from the added home value.
Community Solar
JCP&L hosts a Community Solar portal for households that can't site rooftop solar — an option I bring up for renters and shaded roofs.
Note: no JCP&L residential TOU rate — yet
Unlike PSE&G's RS-TOU-3P (launching June 1, 2026), JCP&L has no equivalent residential Time-of-Use tariff active in 2026. Your net metering credit value is the flat retail rate, which simplifies the solar math but also means batteries don't deliver the same TOU arbitrage on JCP&L — backup is the primary battery use case here.
JCP&L Rates — 2025 → 2026
Last summer was painful. This summer's a softer landing. Both moves trace back to the same BGS auction process.
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| BGS auction drove a typical JCP&L customer (777 kWh/mo) bill up ~19.9%. The roughest move of any NJ utility last summer. | FirstEnergy notice | |
| NJBPU certified the 2026 auction. A typical JCP&L residential customer (650 kWh/mo) sees a +1.6% (~$2.23/mo) bump effective . | ROI-NJ, 2/17/2026 | |
| Current PTC residential rate: $0.146/kWh through — the lowest of NJ's four investor-owned utilities. | JCP&L BGS Compliance Tariff Filing, 6/1/2026 |
Gotchas I Warn Every JCP&L Client About
- Lower retail rate = longer payback. JCP&L's PTC ($0.146/kWh) is materially below PSE&G's ~$0.26. Net metering credits are worth less per kWh. The math still works in JCP&L territory — payback is just 2–3 years longer than the same system would pay back on PSE&G. I show clients both timelines.
- Ocean & Monmouth circuit saturation. The Shore towns have circuits running near capacity. Lavallette, Bay Head, Mantoloking and parts of Brick & Toms River all need a real Solar Accommodation Map check before signing.
- Sussex/Warren rural permitting. Townships with small building departments can take 4–8 weeks just on the permit side. JCP&L's interconnection isn't the bottleneck — the local AHJ is.
- No TOU upside (yet). If an installer is selling you a battery on "peak-rate avoidance" math, push back — that math is real on PSE&G post-June 2026, but on JCP&L the value of a battery is mostly outage protection (which is real, just a different ROI story).
- 2025 outage history. JCP&L territory has had heavier storm-related outage hours than the other three NJ utilities. For some Shore and Highlands clients, that's the real reason a battery makes sense.
- FirstEnergy interconnection email is fastest. If your installer says "still waiting" past 21 business days, ask them to follow up at JC_interconnection@firstenergycorp.com. I do this for clients myself.
Ready to See Your JCP&L Numbers?
Let me plug your JCP&L bill into the calculator. I'll show you the real payback at the lower JCP&L rate and whether a battery still makes sense for outage protection.