NJ Readies Infrastructure for Another Superstorm [AUDIO/VIDEO]

The State of New Jersey is teaming up with the U.S. Energy Department to develop a state-of-the-art microgrid, which will power the NJ Transit rail system if the regular grid goes down in the future.

"The goal is to develop a fully resilient power infrastructure, which will fortify the state's public transportation network," says Governor Chris Christie.

He points out such a grid could supply "highly reliable power during times when the traditional centralized grid is compromised, which will keep hundreds of thousands of customers on the move everyday and not stranded in their homes."

The Governor points out the havoc that the Superstorm "wreaked on the people of this state to have our New Jersey Transit system down for any period of time.  This would significantly increase electrical reliability."

The Energy Department is paying for the design of the grid at a cost of $1 million.

"No one would have wished that we would have gotten to this option in this way, but now that we have, lets try to make the best of it and try to improve the lives of the people in this region who have been damaged by the storm," Christie explained.

"More than 900,000 people commute on NJ Transit every day, and this storm and its aftermath will be wasted opportunity if we don't learn from what failed during that period of time."