PJM Interconnection said that its board has approved an investment of more than $417m to carry out electric transmission projects across select states.

The projects are all aimed at improving reliability in electric transmission in the respective areas they would serve.

As per the American regional transmission firm, the largest of the projects is the replacement of a massive, outdated substation in Newark, New Jersey. The substation serves healthcare buildings, government, transportation centers, education and other critical infrastructure customers.

A new substation named as The Public Service Electric & Gas Newark and built at an estimated cost of $275m will be the replacement of the aging equipment, stated PJM.

The electric transmission firm said that building a new substation near the existing structure was found to be the best cost-efficient solution.

PJM added that it also thought of relocating the substation but determined that it would turn out to be a more costly solution and at the same time had more risks attached to it.

Its board had also cleared equipment upgrades and improvements in areas served by various utilities in different states with most of the individual projects to be developed under $5m.

PJM president and CEO Andrew L. Ott said: “The board's approval of these projects reinforces both PJM's fundamental mission of preserving reliability and the value of PJM's independent assessment of transmission needs.

“Planning is evolving in PJM to consider impacts of new trends. However, studying and planning for reliability remains the top priority.”

The utilities associated with the approved projects include Dominion, American Electric Power, PECO Energy, Dayton Power & Light, and Pennsylvania Electric among others.