The PSE&G Substation on Trent Place, Explained

What is being built

A substation takes power off higher-voltage lines and steps it down for the local wires that run to homes and businesses. PSE&G’s new station at 151 Trent Place (County Route 601), Block 4001, Lot 26.01, will take power at 69,000 volts and send it out at 13,000 volts (69/13 kV).

According to the application and the August 10, 2026 hearing, the site will hold:

• two 69/13 kV transformers and a seven-breaker 69 kV “ring bus”;
• a 13 kV switchgear building with twelve outgoing circuits;
• a 1,275-square-foot control house with one restroom;
• ten 45.5-foot lightning masts;
• pole-mounted security cameras;
• a curbed pad for an emergency mobile transformer;
• two stormwater basins.

A 10-foot anti-climb fence surrounds the yard. It will be unmanned and monitored remotely around the clock. PSE&G said about two employees would visit weekly for 20 to 45 minutes.

PSE&G’s planning papers call it the Harlingen substation. In May 2026 the township’s Landmarks Commission objected that the name belongs to the historic Harlingen village and church, now a State and National Register district. “It is NOT an appropriate name,” the commission wrote. By the August hearing PSE&G was calling it the Trent Place substation. The township’s project page still uses “Harlingen.”

Why PSE&G says it is needed

The clearest statement of need is in PSE&G’s filings with PJM, the operator of the regional grid. In September and October 2023 PSE&G told PJM’s planning committee that two substations had run out of room:

Substation	Customers	2021 peak	Capacity	Contingency overload
Sunnymeade (Hillsborough area)	over 21,400	over 63.4 MVA	61.43 MVA	103.2%
Mount Rose	over 11,800	over 65.0 MVA	61.47 MVA	105.7%

“Contingency overload” means the load the station would carry if one piece of equipment failed.

PSE&G’s fix was a new 69/13 kV station “on new property” in the Harlingen area. It would cut into two existing 69 kV lines, Bennetts Lane-Montgomery and Montgomery-”Customer Sub.” A second 230/69 kV transformer would go in at the Bennetts Lane substation. PSE&G estimated the whole package at $105.1 million. It rejected an alternative with a new 69 kV line from the Montgomery substation, estimated at $152.1 million. The 2024 filing lists it as project s3090, projected in service in December 2029.

At the Planning Board, PSE&G’s project manager gave the same purpose. The minutes record that the station would relieve “existing capacity constraints at the Sunnymead and Mount Rose substations” and meet growing demand “including electric vehicle growth.” It would also provide capacity for “approximately 35 MW of solar generation” and serve “approximately 6,000 customers in the area, including East Mountain Hospital and the Carrier Clinic.” In the uncorrected captions he said one 69 kV feed runs to Johnson & Johnson. (video, about 7 minutes in)

A board member asked whether PSE&G had looked at enlarging the existing substations. PSE&G’s “internal planning group” had, he said, and a new station was better for reliability. He did not have future load figures: “I don’t have that answer personally” (captions). Nothing in the township or PJM record ties the station to any data center or other single new customer.

How the land was found and bought

PSE&G’s attorney told the board the project “started many, many years ago” with talks with the township about “an appropriate location” (captions). PSE&G’s permitting consultant was working on Block 4001, Lots 26 and 28 by February 2024.

The land was farmland owned since 2006 by 601 and Reading, L.L.C., part of a tract of about 105 acres along Trent Place and Reading Boulevard. A seven-acre “Lot 26” showed on the tax map, but the township minutes say a title search found it had never been legally created. So PSE&G, as contract purchaser, first applied for a minor subdivision (Case PB-07-24):

• January 13, 2025: the board waived some submission requirements for the 97-acre remainder.
• March 10, 2025: the board approved the 7.095-acre lot, 7-0. Its attorney said, “This is not an approval for the substation.”
• April 14, 2025: the resolution was memorialized.

The seller dedicated road right-of-way at Reading Boulevard to the township, accepted by Ordinance #25-1762 on August 21, 2025, and another strip to the county. On September 29, 2025 PSE&G bought the lot for $3,000,000.

The seller keeps the remaining roughly 97 acres. The board planner noted in July 2026 that the township’s open-space data lists that land “as unrestricted open space and as a potential acquisition.”

Why the township’s say was limited

Two rules shaped the review.

1. The use is allowed in that zone. Montgomery’s Limited Manufacturing (LM) zone lists public utilities as a conditional use. They are allowed if they meet six standards in the township code (§16-6.1a):

• the location is “reasonably necessary for the satisfactory provision of service”;
• buildings do not “adversely affect the safe, comfortable enjoyment of property rights in the surrounding area”;
• fences and safety devices are “adequate”;
• landscaping is provided and maintained;
• parking is adequate.

PSE&G testified it met all six. So the board did not decide whether a substation could go there, only how it is laid out. The board planner treated the 10-foot fence and the lightning masts as required safety devices, so they needed no height variance. What did need relief were six bulk variances (setbacks, a narrow front buffer, a 7-foot retaining wall) and two design exceptions.

2. The state can override local rules for utilities. Under the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-19, a utility “aggrieved by the action of a municipal agency” can appeal to the state Board of Public Utilities. If the BPU finds a project “reasonably necessary for the service, convenience or welfare of the public,” it can rule that local zoning and site-plan rules “shall not apply.” Utilities do use this route; a gas utility filed such a petition in 2026 after a zoning board denial. Here it was not needed, because the township approved. No BPU filing for this station was found.

In practice, the township’s leverage lay in the site plan conditions: screening, lighting, stormwater, the sidewalk, the hydrant and the look of the walls.

What the record says about noise, light, water, screening and EMF

Noise. PSE&G’s acoustical consultant puts the nearest home about 400 feet from the equipment. It modeled the worst case, with all cooling fans and air conditioners running: 38 to 41 decibels (dB(A)) at the nearest homes. The state’s night-time limit at homes is 50 dB(A). The study measured night-time background “lulls” near the site at about 31 dB once insects were filtered out. It concludes that the station “will not be audible in the presence of local traffic but will likely be detectable during lulls.” Noise was not discussed at the hearing.

Light. About 25 downward-aimed lights in the yard will run from dusk to dawn, plus wall lights on the two buildings. Twenty-one uplights stay off unless a crew switches them on, on a timer, for night-time emergency work. The Environmental Commission and the Open Space Director pushed for dark-sky practices. PSE&G revised the fixtures to a 3000K colour temperature.

Stormwater. The site counts as a “major development” under the state stormwater rules. Two bioretention basins must cut peak runoff and meet a rainfall adjustment for the year 2100. The board engineer’s memo adds that the soils do not drain well, “thus no recharge is provided.” The northern basin ties into the storm drain in Trent Place. The southern basin outlets toward the existing wetlands.

Wetlands and wildlife. NJDEP verified the wetland lines in March 2026. PSE&G says only the sidewalk the township asked for touches a wetland buffer, which needs an NJDEP permit. State data show endangered bat habitat on the site, which can limit when trees may be cut.

Oil and fire. The transformers hold mineral oil inside a containment pit, with sensors that shut them down if pressure drops. The Fire Official recommended bringing a water line and hydrant to protect “the control house or the fuel oil storage for the transformers.” The one member of the public who spoke on August 10 asked where that line would come from. The speaker noted that three or four nearby homes are on wells and might benefit from it. The board said the Fire Official would decide.

Screening. The landscape plan has 264 trees, including 146 large evergreens expected to reach about 60 feet, plus about 96 more trees for site disturbance, for a total of about 360. PSE&G’s landscape architect said it would take “more than five years” for the screen to fill in. The retaining wall facing Trent Place gets a stone veneer. The board planner asked for a darker, earth-toned stone.

EMF. At the 2025 subdivision hearing a resident asked about “possible radiation exposure,” and the minutes record no answer. None of the 29 files posted for the site plan includes a study of electric or magnetic fields (EMF). The subject did not come up at the 2026 hearing. The record therefore contains no measured or predicted field levels at the property line.

Lines in and out. PSE&G said the incoming 69 kV lines would run underground from existing overhead lines in the street. When the resolution was adopted on September 14, the board attorney added that “the lines to the approximately 6000 residents who will be served will not be underground” (captions).

The decision and the paperwork

On August 10, 2026 the Planning Board approved the preliminary and final site plan with variances and design waivers, 5-0. Voting yes were Chair Campeas, Khan, Mayor Singh, Glockler and Sharma. The motion required PSE&G to comply with the consultants’ review memos. The hearing ran about an hour and a half. One member of the public spoke, about the water line. No objections are recorded. (video)

On September 14 the board adopted the written resolution. Before the vote the board attorney corrected the draft to say it is a “preliminary and final major site plan approval.” The township’s Notice of Decision for that night still says “minor,” apparently repeating the uncorrected draft. The adopted resolution, which sets out the binding conditions, is not online.

Where it stands

• Local approval: granted and memorialized. The project page still says “Proposed.”
• Other approvals still listed in the file: NJDEP (wetlands permit, holding-tank approval), the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission, the Somerset County Planning Board (Trent Place is a county road), the Soil Conservation District, NJ American Water, and township tree, soil and construction permits. The board engineer wrote that these must be in hand before the plans are signed.
• Schedule: PSE&G said construction would start around June 2027 and finish by the end of 2029.

What is not known

• The exact conditions in Resolution PB-04-26.
• Whether the outside permits have been issued.
• The route and length of the underground 69 kV lines, and where new overhead distribution lines will run.
• Where the water line and hydrant will go, and whether neighbours on wells can connect.
• Expected electric and magnetic field levels at the property line.
• How much of the $105.1 million is for the Trent Place station alone, and how that cost will be recovered.
• Whether the station’s name has formally changed.
• Plans, if any, for the 97 acres around it.

What residents can do

• Read the file. The project page lists 29 documents, including the sound study, the environmental impact statement, the plans and every review memo. The township notes these are courtesy copies. The official file is at the Planning/Zoning office, 100 Community Drive, Skillman, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Request records from the Planning/Zoning office or the Township Clerk:
  • the adopted Resolution PB-04-26 and Resolution PB-07-24;
  • the affidavits of notice and publication for both hearings;
  • any outside-agency approvals as they arrive.
• Ask PSE&G for expected EMF levels at the fence line and nearest homes, the transmission and distribution routes, and a construction-traffic plan for Trent Place.
• Ask the Fire Official and the township engineer where the water main extension will run.
• Watch for later approvals. Somerset County Planning Board and D&R Canal Commission reviews happen at public meetings. NJDEP permit applications are copied to the Township Clerk.
• Speak at a meeting. The Planning Board meets the 2nd and 4th Monday at 7 p.m., and the Township Committee generally the 1st and 3rd Thursday at 7 p.m. Planning Board agendas open with public comment on items not on the agenda.