Jersey Central Power & Light has asked New Jersey regulators to approve a rate proposal that would delay the impact of higher delivery charges for residential customers until 2028, while allowing the utility to continue billions of dollars in investments aimed at improving electric reliability.

The proposal, filed late Thursday with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, would increase the company’s base distribution rates by $253 million. However, JCP&L said it would use offsets to shield residential customers from those higher delivery charges throughout 2027, with the new rates taking effect in January 2028 if approved.

Under the proposal, the typical residential customer using 767 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month would see their bill rise by about $14.23, or roughly 8.8%, beginning in 2028. The average monthly bill would increase from $162.30 to approximately $176.53.

The filing also seeks approval to recover $476 million in deferred storm restoration costs through a separate charge beginning in January 2028. JCP&L said the costs would be spread over 10 years rather than recovered over a shorter period, reducing the immediate impact on customer bills.

Company officials said the proposal is designed to balance affordability with continued investment in the electric system.

In their filing, JCP&L said it has invested approximately $1.5 billion in its electric system over the past three years and reported a 15% improvement in reliability during 2025 compared with the previous year. The company said reliability has improved by 38% so far in 2026.

If approved, the proposal would support an additional $2.1 billion in distribution investments as part of FirstEnergy’s broader five-year, $6.9 billion capital plan. Planned projects include modernizing portions of the electric grid, expanding remote monitoring capabilities, upgrading transmission infrastructure and continuing energy efficiency programs.

The utility is also seeking additional funding for vegetation management, citing trees as one of the leading causes of outages across its 3,200-square-mile service territory. JCP&L said dead and diseased ash trees have accounted for about 60% of tree-related outages since 2020. The company has removed more than 74,000 hazardous ash trees since 2017.

In addition to the infrastructure investments, JCP&L said it plans to continue offering energy efficiency rebates, payment assistance programs for qualifying customers and a proposed pilot program that would reward customers who shift electricity usage to off-peak hours.

The proposal is subject to review and approval by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. If approved, the new residential bill impacts would not take effect until January 2028.